Dave Kokus

Dave Kokus, retired State of California graphic artist and coordinator with the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) in Sacramento, died of a stroke on July 25, 2011. He was 76 years of age. His acclaimed watercolor paintings adorned and hung on the walls of the State Capitol Building during the first term of Governor Jerry Brown. They mostly featured California landscapes. Dave was on frequent loan to several other departments during State service, including extensive travel to UCLA and USC in Los Angeles, where he created displays on health services and innovations. Dave began his State of California employment with the Alcohol & Drug Abuse unit. Dave also worked for other California governors including Ronald Reagan and George Deukmejian. When Governor Reagan became President of the United States, he asked Dave to accompany him to Washington, D.C. Dave chose to continue his State employment and continue to be of great help assisting his elderly parents and special needs sister Audrey, who lived in Forestville near the Russian River. Dave was also accepted as a member of the California Fine Arts Society in San Francisco, in acknowledgement of his watercolor paintings. Dave Kokus had one of his political satire cartoons accepted by The National Press Club for hanging in their downtown Gallery of Honor located in their Press building in Washington D.C. It featured Governor Jerry Brown in a monk's robe. Survivors include his sister Audrey Kokus in Santa Rosa, John and Phyllis Kokus, brother and sister-in-law in Washington, D.C, and his beloved nieces Kim Palmer of New York state and Kelly D'Angelo of Washington, D.C. Dave's beloved cousins from Wisconsin Sue and Karsten Vollstedt will be holding a Burial Memorial Service for Dave which will take place at Pleasant Hills Memorial Park Cemetery, 1700 Pleasant Hill Road, Sebastopol, California, on November 7th, 2011 at 10 a.m.