I had a tie collection of over 500 ties, and David and I enjoyed picking one out.

During my Midterms and finals this past Semester all i wanted to do was quit, a case of the senioritis is what i told David, all he said was".....listen you are only one semester away you have done so much yes to be proud of, but you want a different career so you will study and will go take your midterm...." So no dinner dates nada for a week, "you have to study Tonia, you want to run your own Photography studio , why quit your dream?" You see I was a Navy Corpsman for 11 years and just got out last January and quit the medical field, due to my passion in Photgraphy, and thanks to David I am now 5 months away from graduating with my B.S. in Management/HR and in Manager training at my Studio where I work. Infact clients are requesting me now for on the side jobs. David Pushed me to not forget what my goals and dreams where, he always said to me.."tonia you have it all waiting for you , you just have to reach out and take it for yourself"

One of Davids favorite quotes ( which i think is so very true, because if it wasn't for my family and friends [when dealing with my PTSD from the military] sticking by my side i dont know where I'd be today, because of David pushing me towards the dream I had I am finally happy in my job, which is my photography, New York has bought my art from my website and all, Thank you baby), David's favorite quote..“I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.”
― Marilyn MonroeHe helped me get passed my self doubt. He will always be right there by my side because his words are there still in my ear.

Brian and I, and, Sammy our Dog, drove from California to spend Christmas in Memphis a few years ago. We normally didn't exchange gifts but David had gone shopping and bought gifts for everyone in the family and wrapped them all himself, then played Santa, which he enjoyed more than us.  This was just one way he showed he was a kind and careing young man.

I loved David since the first time I saw him and he will always have a special place in my heart.

I am so glad he made the trip to Northern California to see us 2 years ago.

It was my pleasure being his aunt and I will miss him so very much.

Aunt Nancy

Brian and I, and, Sammy our Dog, drove from California to spend Christmas in Memphis a few years ago. We normally didn't exchange gifts but David had gone shopping and bought gifts for everyone in the family and wrapped them all himself, then played Santa, which he enjoyed more than us.  This was just one way he showed he was a kind and careing young man.

I loved David since the first time I saw him and he will always have a special place in my heart.

I am so glad he made the trip to Northern California to see us 2 years ago.

It was my pleasure being his aunt and I will miss him so very much.

Aunt Nancy

One of my fondest memories of Dave had to be graduation from college, May of 2001.  There we were, finally, all black robes and colored cords.  As we lined up to walk to our designated seats, one of our professors handed us our identification cards and instructed us to give it to Dr. Burke as we walked up the stage to get our diploma.  He also asked us to check for any spelling mistakes in our names.  Since I wanted my full Spanish name at my graduation, I grabbed a pen and added my second last name.  As I was about to put my pen back in my pocket, I hear Dave say, "Hey Maria, let me borrow that pen."  I didn't think much of it and just gave him the pen.  It wasn't until a couple of the guys close to him started snickering that I suspected he was up to something.  I just had to roll my eyes though cause if you know Dave, you know that he was ALWAYS up to something.  Getting my pen back, I smiled and played ignorant to the twinkle in his eye and that little pout he always used to make when he knew he was about to do something that was going to make someone upset and the rest of the world laugh.  It was graduation day, so I simply didn't care.

However, I have to admit I was curious, and when Dave went up to that stage, gave his card and smiled broadly as his name was called, I certainly didn't expect the "summa cum laude" that came right after it.  You see, Dave COULD have been summa cum laude, he certainly was smart enough, but in our class we all knew he wasn't, and after the second it took all of us to understand what he did, it was the next 5 minutes of laughter and his triumphant grin that made commencement another memorable Dave story. 

And that was Dave: memorable.  He was always pushing the limits and never failed to make us all laugh.  He was a good friend, a truly caring soul and he will be greatly missed.

Thanks for the fun times Dave, or as we will remember from that graduation day, summa cum laude Dave.