David Alan LaVars

1945 - 2014

BORN

1945

DIED

2014

FUNERAL HOME

Santa Cruz Memorial Funeral Home - Mission Chapel

1927 Ocean St

Santa Cruz, California

David LaVars Obituary

Name: Service for David Alan LaVars
Start: 2014-05-02T19:00:00.000Z
Location: Twin Lakes Church

David Alan LaVars
June 24, 1945 – April 19, 2014
Resident of Corralitos
Local resident David Alan LaVars passed away on April 19, 2014 at Stanford Hospital at the age of 68 surrounded by his loving family. Born on June 24, 1945, David grew up in Southern California attending Morningside High School and later, Cal State University of Dominguez Hills, earning a Bachelor's in Economics. His degree would serve him well later in life as a business owner.
Dave would enlist in the armed forces, serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He was a proud veteran, and earned numerous awards and accolades, including the National Defense Services and Vietnam Services medals. A skilled thinker and tinkerer of anything mechanical, his talents would come in handy as he began his career an operator and co-owner of a renowned Santa Cruz Body Shop for over three decades until his retirement in 2011.
Dave loved to travel and ventured with family and friends to many locations around the world, including Denmark, Hawaii, Alaska and Mexico. He was an active member of the Twin Lakes Church congregation, and volunteered with the People's Pantry program. Passionate about the ocean, he was an avid surfer in his younger days, and a dedicated fisherman later in life.
Dave had a great sense of humor and was loving to all those who knew him. He was a man of heart and faith, and his family came first in everything that he did. He especially loved his grandchildren whom affectionately called him Bepa. He is survived by his wife, Susann Rogberg-LaVars, son, Lon LaVars (wife, Shane), daughter Debra Santos (husband, Greg), step-son Soren Coats (wife, Wendy), brother Jim LaVars, sister Lauri Howell (husband, Mark), six grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his granddaughter, Reese Marie Coats.
Services will be held at Twin Lakes Church, inside the Monschke Hall, on Friday, May 2nd at noon. Hawaiian shirts and attire are encouraged in Dave's honor. Flowers can be sent to Twin Lakes for memorial services, or contributions to Stanford Hospital or Twin Lakes Church honoring Dave.
If you would like to offer condolences to Dave's family, share your memories and light a candle in his honor, please visit
www.scmemorial.com

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Santa Cruz Sentinel on Apr. 27, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
for David LaVars

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6 Entries

Larry L. Kurtz

January 20, 2023

Dave Lavars, wherever you are, no doubt on the "other side" of eternity, and very much alive and well will always be my very best of friends. He and I, Tony Hockschield (spelling), Dennis Anderson, and others of our family of friend, including Jim Lavars, always included and Dave's dear brother, will live in my heart as one of ther very best and happiest times of my early life. After our graduation from Morningside High School in Inglewood, CA, I joined the Marine Corps, and off I went to the far east, Okinawa, Japan, Australia, Bangkok, and of course Vietnam. I remained in the Marine Corps followed by 3 tours in Vietnam. I received a letter from Dave during my first tour in Vietnam and I was so very glad to receive mail from Dave, who I considered my brother, certainly my spiritual brother. Dave was a warrior in this thing called life, Tough, and intelligently gifted in mechanical operations of any kind, from his artful production of surf boards made by he and his brother, Jim. "Boards by Lavars" - and what beautiful and well-balanced they were. Dave could look at anything and dismantle it and rebuild it's interior, especially vehicle engines, a master at that extremely laborious business. He loved to work, notwithstanding his humor at laughing at projects that would spell bind anyone with its complexity, but no complexity for him. I miss Dave, and have always missed my dearest of friends. One day we'll be together again, and laughing, and spending time together on what I like to call the "other side" where our true and permanent homes are. I truly look forward to that time, despite the process of passing away. When it comes, I will embrace it as God, my Holy Father and His Sacred and Holy Son, Christ Jesus has meant for all of us to experience. I love you, David Lavars as my fraternal/eternal "Spiritual" brother. God bless you, my dear friend, and God bless your kdear wife, and family. I'm quite certain you live in their hearts and minds, body and souls, and blood and brains, as you, Dave, do with all who knew you and keep you so alive in our hearts.

Fraternally yours,

Larry Kurtz

Larry Kurtz

April 21, 2019

God bless you Dave, and his dear family. I can assure his family that Dave's family include his friends who knew and loved him as a dear and enduring friend possessed of true, strong character. Dave is a noble man. I say, "is" because in my personal knowledge, there is no death, only a passing and crossing over to our real home on the other side of this thing called LIFE. One day, we will be with Dave again. There won't be anymore goodbyes or broken hearts. When it's time we'll all meet on the other side and have potato salad together.

Larry Kurtz

November 2, 2014

Dave Lavars was my very closest of friends. He and I graduated from Morningside High School a 100 lifetimes ago, or so it seems. He was regarded well by all of his classmates who considered Dave to be a young man possessed of strength of character, certainly seen as a standup man, notwithstanding our ages during our high school years. He was unquestionably a fine man who stood by his principles. Dave had quite a sense of humor - always seeing the irony in things, a quality of his character expressed and received so well by those who knew and appreciated him for who he was, and as far as I'm concerned, still is and will alway be. Dave's acumen for mechanics was superb. In fact, his abilities in most everything he did demonstrated a confidence of certainty to creatively correct whatever the problem or difficulty may have been. Both he and his brother, Jim were gifted in these attributes.
I love you, Dave, wherever you are. When my time comes to cross over, we'll all meet on the other side and have potato salad together.

Larry Kurtz

Judy Clem

April 27, 2014

Will miss his humor and smile.

Julie Carrera

April 26, 2014

Rest in peace super Dave ! We love and miss you .our love to the family
Love the Carrera family

April 26, 2014

Dave, where do I start? From raising my friend as if he were your own to accepting me into your home when I didn't have one and later, going the extra mile (repeatedly) with my sister's old bug to keep her safe from breakdowns and through it all, you were Susann's patient and loving foil.

Thank you my friend for enriching my life-all our lives-with your relaxed presence, steady stream of comedic observations and mellow attitude.

For the rest of my life, I won't be able to look at Hawaiian shirts, Lazy-boy chairs, ball & chains or Kahlúa without thinking of you friend.

I'm hopeful you and fish dog have already found each other and have gone straight back to the water together.

You are loved and missed my friend!

Love,
Todd

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