David Earl Harkness

David "Dave" Earl Harkness, 65 of Terre Haute, Indiana passed away at his home on Sunday, August 3rd, 2025. Dave was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania on August 20, 1959 to Albert and Ruth Harkness. He spent his childhood in Indianapolis (Irvington) and graduated from Thomas Carr Howe Community High School in 1977. After graduation he worked at Tom Wood Toyota until 1988 when he became a Sales Manager and a District Manager for Western Southern until 1998. He and his family moved to Terre Haute in 1998 when he joined Fuson Toyota. He entered the transportation industry as an over the road truck driver in 2006 and in 2011 he joined Ryder Integrated Logistics where he was employed until his passing. He was preceded in death by his parents; older sister Karen Harkness; older brothers Bill and John Harkness; daughter Amy Harkness Burt; and best friends Brian Gould and Mike Davis. He is survived by his wife of nearly 38 years, Nancy Harkness; sons David (Laura) Harkness and Max Harkness; daughters Jennifer (Ian) Gillis; Becca Holsomback; grandchildren Sebastian (Maxine) Metts, Nateara Bowling, Gabriel Allen, Tristan Gillis, Joshua Cordell, Ellie Harkness, and a new grandchild arriving in the spring. As a life-long salesman, Dave never knew a stranger and made friends everywhere he went in life. He enjoyed making people laugh be it with his facial expressions, quips, or sharing stories of places he'd been and people he'd met in his travels. He was an avid collector of many things including model trains, memorabilia, and bargains. He was a self-proclaimed foodie and would happily share the exact location (including highway exit numbers and turn-by-turn directions) of the best restaurants he'd experienced all over the country. Locally, he enjoyed the breaded pork tenderloin at The Bush Family Restaurant. Dave's family invite his friends and colleagues to join them in a celebration of his life on Saturday, August 16th, 2025 at 1:00 PM at Lost Creek Baptist Church (4440 N Creal Street, Terre Haute, IN 47805). After the ceremony the family will host a luncheon at the church. Please bring your fondest memories and stories of Dave to share with the family. In lieu of flowers, the family request donations in Dave's honor be made to the American Cancer Society or the Cancer Research Institute. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of David Earl Harkness, please visit our floral store.