David VanWinkle

1959 - 2024

The obituary that I would have given anything to not have had to write has arrived. Having written obituaries for loved ones over the years, it came easy to capture their story, the essence of them, but not this one...not for this man. I am just not ready for our final-final.

David Scott VanWinkle (or as his parents insist, Van Winkle) gifted us with his presence on February 11th, 1959 (I was six) in Everett, Washington departing the womb in his Superman uniform! More figuratively than literally yet he never let up until his final breath.

Dave was the third born son of Robert & Jeanne Van Winkle. Big brothers were Bobby and Johnny and baby sister, Shellee. Theirs was a delightful childhood including church, a backyard orchard, prolific vegetable gardens, pet dogs, bee hives, hunting deer, papa making homemade wine and owning a furniture store.

Dave graduated Marysville High School, Class of 1978, earning the Title he and his sister Shellee shared that year, Biggest Flirts! Dave went on to various jobs but for some reason his youthful dream job was to drive a beer truck, so at 21, he did. He continued to work his way up in that industry until he retired at the age of 61 from Constellation Brands. Dave's drive, discipline and determination changed the face of the industry in that he was a mad scientist when it came to drawing schematics. He was hired into two corporations that required Bachelor Degrees for baseline employment, he didn't have one. Constellation Brands created a position within their company just to hire him knowing he would be an asset, and he was. Dave cloned himself by helping to create a program called "The Art Of The Draw" that new hires were trained from. That position now employs over a hundred people.

Dave had another dream as a young man, and that was to own 10 houses. He worked his day job 40+hours a week and at age 30 began building that dream. He worked, after work, on those houses to turn them into homes he would be proud to live in, leading tenets to become friends along the way. He said he just wanted to assure a decent retirement lifestyle for his family. He exceeded his goal. While that led to tremendous sacrifice in his life, he knew exactly how to interweave fun into his life. His saying was, "you have to make your own fun," and boy did he ever!

We married on September 21st (do you remember?) and enjoyed 31+ years of friendship and 27 years of marriage. So now the hard part, he was preceded in death by grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles and his two older brothers, Bobby and Johnny. He is survived by his wife, Debbie, his custodial granddaughter Alyha, his parents, Bob and Jeanne, and his sister Shellee (Ron). Also, his son Derek (Elysha), and his stepchildren, Sonya, Shane (Ame), and Shareen. Then his grand children Ariana, Cheyanne, Chloe, Riley, Lily and Levi and his great grandson Leon. I must also mention his nephews John Robert, Cory & his mini-me Taylor (Aubree) and of course his favorite niece extraordinaire, Deann. He melded right into my Lowry family. He insisted on hosting my family's Christmas Eve gathering, this year would have been the annual 24th Lowry Christmas Eve Gathering. Tons of fun with my sisters and their families!! Lots of great nieces and nephews, are going to miss his crazy antics and incredible cooking. We happen to have the worlds best friends and neighbors on the planet with whom jillions of memories have been locked into history and maybe a photograph or two.

Dave left us gently on the evening of November 21st, 2024 at his beloved home in Palm Desert, California. A monster named Mesothelioma took him from me, from us.

Dave has left an indelible legacy on hundreds of friends and colleagues that won't soon be forgotten. He was a force to be reckoned with and yet brought more joy and laughter to this earth than anyone I've ever met.

This life of his deserves to be celebrated and it shall be. Date to be determined. In lieu of anything please raise a glass to Dave, irregardless of its content, just make sure it's at least half full because that's how Dave looked at life, only as possibilities and opportunities. Adios Dave, until we meet again my love, and THEN the final-final!