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David Klingensmith Obituary
September 17, 1936 - September 18, 2024
Bellingham, Washington - David Jack "DJ" Klingensmith, age 88, passed away peacefully on September 18, 2024, with his family by his side.
David was born September 17, 1936, in Bellingham to parents Frank and Bessie Klingensmith. He graduated from Bellingham High School in 1955.
David served a one-year enlistment in the Air National Guard following high school. He and his friends joined because they were concerned their buddy was going to be drafted.
David attended Western Washington College of Education for a brief period while working as a mechanic at Standard Oil until he went to work for Puget Sound Pulp and Timber, which later became Georgia Pacific, where he worked for 43½ years before retiring in 1999.
When he wasn't working at GP, you would find him doing projects in his beloved garage or around the neighborhood of his Lake Samish home fixing lawn mowers, boats, cars, hot tubs, and plumbing. You name it, he helped fix it.
David was a 25-year member of the Lake Samish Volunteer Fire Department which he joined by being commandeered by Chief Wibbens when investigating the flames from the dump fire in 1964.
He loved living on Lake Samish and spending time with his family and friends on the water skiing and fishing. He was also an avid snow skier. He loved skiing with friends and family and going on ski vacations. When his body wouldn't allow him to ski any longer, he loved going to garage sales with his friends, where he was sure to make many more friends. He was a very kind and generous person; he would give the shirt off his back to a stranger and tell a funny story while doing it.
David is preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Bessie, his sister, Patricia (Patrick) Thon, and niece, Trisha Thon.
He is survived by his children, Marni (Mike) Murk and Jeff (Morgan) Klingensmith, grandson, Mason Murk, and nephews, David, William, and Daniel Thon.
He will forever be missed. Love you, dad!
An open house memorial will be held on Saturday October 12th, from 2:00p.m. to 5:00p.m. at VFW Post 1585, 625 N. State St. Bellingham, WA. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to your local Humane Society in his honor.
To share your memories of David, please visit www.westfordfuneralhome.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for David Klingensmith
5 Entries
Kon Lemperes
October 11, 2024
I worked for many ears at GP with Dave. We had an odd connection in that we shared a birthday on the 17th of September. Dave was always the mechanic you would ask for when something went wrong on our machines. He was an amazing fixer! I will always remember him for his wry smile, usually aimed at me for not seeing the obvious problem he had to fix. I send my sincere sympathy to his loved ones for this loss. Know that he was a dear and memorable friend. I will miss him, too. God grant you comfort in knowing that this loss is shared by many.
Robert French
October 8, 2024
Sorry to see Dave's passing.
I worked with Dave many years at GP Tissue Div.
He was always willing to offer his knowlege in friendly manner toward restoring ailing equipment to full production.
Rest easy Dave
Kitty Todd
October 5, 2024
Dave was like a brother to my husband Terry, they loved working on Terry´s antique cars and Then ApplebeesHe missed his friend, will always have great memories of their time together Kitty Todd
Mike Rawls
October 1, 2024
Dear Dave Klingensmith Family, I had the Joy and Pleasure working with Dave at Jim Bamford's Shuksan Two Ski Shop at the Mt Baker Lodge in the mid 1960s. We had a great crew, Don and Charlie Noyes, Ray Ramsey, and Jane West. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Mike and Linda Rawls
Steve Chronister
September 30, 2024
Dave was our neighbor when we were growing up on Friday Creek Rd. on Lake Samish from 1966-72. Nothing but good memories of him and his family. Glad to see he lived a long, full life.
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Westford Funeral Home & Cremation Service1301 Broadway, Bellingham, WA 98225
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