David R. Gough

David Rentchler Gough, 68, of Needham, MA, passed away peacefully on May 30, 2024, after a heroic eleven year battle with cancer. His husband, Wayne Tocci, his rock and comfort, was at his side as he had been through every day of David's journey. David will be remembered for the indomitable positive attitude he had throughout his years of treatment until his final goodbyes.

David was born on June 6, 1955, to Charles H. Gough and Doris (McFarland) Gough in Philadelphia, PA. The third of five children, David's life on Gowan Avenue in Mount Airy was often chaotic but always filled with love.

Growing up, Sundays were spent at Market Square Presbyterian Church where David was a star in the children's choir. He had the voice of an angel and proudly performed with the Philadelphia All-City Boys Choir. A talented musician, David attended the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia to refine his piano and organ skills. He continued to entertain family and friends throughout the years. Holidays found David at the piano accompanied by his back-up singers-his Mom and Aunt Martha! Music was in David's blood, and his favorite singer was Barbara Streisand. She couldn't have had a more devoted fan.

David graduated from Cheltenham High School in 1973. During high school, he worked at Roy Rogers in Glenside, PA, with his sister, Peggy, whose stories of their antics at work entertained the family. After graduation David worked at Gimbels Department store in the home goods department where his decorating skills were immediately recognized and led to him being recruited to work on store displays. He loved beautiful things and having them handsomely displayed. Wayne called David a professional folder since one of David's favorite tasks was folding! From his days at Gimbels, he had learned to fold anything and everything! Not only did it make for a meticulously kept home, but it was also relaxing and fun for David and led to lots of teasing comments from Wayne!

David's lifelong career began when he was hired by the Southland Corporation, the parent company of 7-Eleven. Starting at a store in Hatfield, PA, David worked his way up from store clerk to store manager to customer relations specialist. His work ethic was impeccable. David was most proud of his position as a training manager setting up new stores in the Philadelphia metro area and beyond. He spent 43 years working and managing 7-Eleven stores until his retirement in 2018 due to his cancer diagnosis.

David met lifelong friends Jennifer Maccarthy and Suzanne Stanley at his first store in Hatfield, PA. Hiring them while they were in high school, they have shared with the family what an impact David had on their lives. He was an exemplary boss and friend. A beautiful person inside and out, he cared deeply for the people he worked with every day. No one ever walked out of a 7-Eleven store without a smile on their face after interacting with David! He could always put a funny spin on life, making the most mundane tasks and ordinary days fun!

Outside of work, David was a private person but witty and fun. He loved to be at home and his house was always immaculate. He had an eye for color and he and Wayne's home was a pleasant joyful one. David loved to cook and could make an authentic Chinese dinner! But his real joy was in letting Wayne cook for him. Italian wedding soup was his favorite made by his very own Italian chef!

David's favorite color was blue, which was no surprise as one of his favorite places was the ocean. Family vacations were spent in Avalon and in Sea Isle City, NJ. Later on, family gatherings in Somers Point, NJ, became the highlight of the year where David and Wayne were grateful to connect with their brothers, sisters and cousins-and David's favorite restaurant! Pictures of the food and menus from the Crab Trap in Somers Point were popular posts on David's Facebook page. It was a good way to keep the family looking forward to the March reunion at Pier 4 right next door to the Crab Trap!

Most important in celebrating David is remembering the defining moment of his life in 2019 when David met the love of his life, Wayne Tocci. It was a match made in heaven. David and Wayne met online within 20 minutes of them both having decided it might be time to give up looking for someone to date using an online matchmaking site. David first reached out to Wayne with a wave but Wayne's response was to tell his sister-in-law, Nadine, "Hey, I'm way out of his league." Luckily, Wayne decided to respond anyway, and when they met on Easter weekend in 2019, it was love at first sight. David moved to Needham shortly afterwards and they were married on March 4, 2020. In Wayne's words, "Heaven sent him to me." Wayne went into their relationship with eyes wide open. He knew about David's cancer but committed himself to a life with David. Wayne was his lover, his best friend and his caregiver for life.

While David hated discord or confrontation, he did need to confront Wayne shortly after they met when he insisted Wayne explain to him what he was talking about when he told David, "My ahm hurts." After being asked to repeat himself several time, David expressed frustration in not knowing what Wayne was talking about. It was simply a matter of Wayne's Boston accent meeting David's Philadelphia accent and was cleared up when Wayne explained, "I banged my ahm, and my ahm hurts!" It became an ongoing joke between them.

David had an enormous heart and wonderful sense of humor and truly loved his life with Wayne in Needham. When David met Wayne's large Italian family, he instantly felt that he was part of it and was proud to call Wayne's children his sons and daughter. He never thought he would have grandchildren but delighted in time spent with them.

David and Wayne loved visiting David's sister, Peggy, and her partner, Linda Chase, at their home on Little Lake Sebago in Maine. Countless hours were spent cruising the lake on the pontoon boat and sitting around the campfire in the evening. They were lazy, happy days that made for wonderful memories with Peggy and "Chaser". Although David loved visiting Peggy in Maine, everyone knew that no matter where Peggy was living (Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida or Maine) David would follow to visit and make sure she was okay. As David said when talking about Peggy, "She is my favorite!" He loved his sister very much, and his brothers definitely knew that she was his favorite!

David and Wayne also visited their family in Rockford, IL, where they celebrated weddings and carefree vacation days. His nephews and nieces always looked forward to Uncle David's visits and were delighted when he visited with Wayne.

The family would like to thank Dr. Fein from the Lank Cancer Center in Needham for his excellent and compassionate care and the staff from South 2 and Derenzo at Beth-Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham for making his final days calm and restful and treating him with dignity.

A private family celebration of David's life will be held on a future date. It was David's wish that any tributes made in his memory be made to the Cancer Center Fund at BID Needham. Checks may be made payable to "BID Needham" with "David Gough/Cancer Center MD Fund" in the memo. Contributions can be mailed to: BID Needham, Gift Processing, Office of Philanthropy, 529 Main Street, 4th Floor, Charlestown, MA 02129, or by visiting https://www.bidneedham.org/giving.

David was predeceased by his parents and sister, Susan; sister Margaret's partner, Linda Chase.

David is survived by his husband Wayne Tocci; children Adam, Jeffrey (Sarah Teach), Kayla, and Austin (Nicole) Tocci; grandchildren Avette, Anoura, and Grayson Tocci; brothers and sisters Ed (Nadine), Glenn (Celeste) Tocci, and Debbie Sabitus; brothers and sister Charles H. (Rene), Robert (Nancy), and Margaret Gough; nephews and nieces Chuck (Jen), Raymond (Tracey), Jason (Katy), Zachary (Autumn), Cody (Casey) Gough and Hannah (Chris) Martensen; plus a legion of loving great nieces and nephews and cousins.

David leaves behind a legacy of kindness. While not always finding acceptance in the world he grew up in, he was nice to other people regardless of how they treated him. He was a sensitive soul in a judgmental world, and part of his legacy will be in how he handled that by treating everyone as a friend.

And finally, after David's passing, Wayne found a small box with a necklace in it. Attached to the necklace was a four sided bead. On it was inscribed, "David and Wayne. Always and forever. Found true love. 3-21-19." Wayne believes that this was a gift he was meant to find after David's death. It was very much a gift David would give-a quiet humble profession of his forever love.

May you rest in peace, David.