David Allen Devine

David Allen Devine was born in Hudson, New York to Woodrow and Evelyn Devine on October 18, 1940.  David and his mother lived with relatives in his early years while his father, Woodrow served in the United States Army during World War II.  After his father returned from the war, they moved to Pawling, New York and this is where David and his younger sister, Martha grew up.  David graduated from Pawling High School and then he attended Duchess Community College where he earned his Associate's Degree.  In 1960, David joined the United States Air Force and was on active duty for four years and then was a Reservist for the next two years before he left the service with an Honorable Discharge in 1966. 

When David was in the Air Force, one of his active duty stations was located in Madison, Wisconsin and that is how he relocated from his home state of New York to Wisconsin.  After his time in the service, David started work at Gimble's Department Store in Milwaukee, WI.  David was a floor supervisor/manager and one day he assisted a sales person who had cut their finger on a glass display case.  The first aid that he provided to the young sales person was Bonnie Lee Duncan!  David married Bonnie in Wausau, WI in January of 1966.

With the assistance of Bonnie's father, David began his career with the Falk Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  During his time with Falk, David was in sales and traveled each week.  Their daughter, Elizabeth was born in June of 1968.  Due to his travel schedule, Bonnie and Elizabeth looked forward to Friday evenings and David's return from his business trip.  The family bought their first home in a suburb of Milwaukee, known as Whitefish Bay.  Their son, Scott was born in January of 1975. David was an avid reader of mystery books and he also loved model trains.  While living in Wisconsin he had an elaborate HO model train layout in the basement of their home.

The Falk Corporation offered David a job promotion and transfer to Southern California in the summer of 1978.  While visiting the area, David discovered Placentia and this is where the family bought their home.  Thanks to invitation of neighbors, David and Bonnie visited Placentia Presbyterian Church and quickly became active members.  David served on the church's Board of Deacons and was also a Co-Admiral of the Mariner's group for couples.  He also served the church as a Sunday usher and also assisted with the offering and communion.  In the community of Placentia, David was a soccer coach and also a band booster parent with the El Dorado High School Marching Band.

Once again, David was asked to relocate with the Falk Corporation in the summer of 1997.  The company relocated him to Tampa, Florida and he and Bonnie sold their home in Placentia and moved to Brandon, Florida.  While in Florida, David and Bonnie quickly discovered some unwanted neighbors, armadillos!  The armadillos were attracted to the grubs which were present the sod which had been recently laid in their front and back yards.  David contracted with a removal service to deal with the armadillos.  After spending over $300 to remove the persistent armadillos, David canceled the service and purchased his own humane traps and began his unpaid career as Trapper Dave.  Trapper Dave became well known in his neighborhood and his trapping abilities were brought to the attention of the local media.  After providing an interview and researching this human story, it was discovered that the story could not be shared due to Trapper Dave not having a license. His unpaid career came to an end his trapping days were over!  He continued his love for model railroading by attending various local model train shows and added to his ever growing collection.

David was known as Grandad to his five grandchildren and enjoyed several Christmases together with the whole family.  As David's health began to deteriorate, he moved to California to be closer to his children so that they could meet his physical needs.  David was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Dementia which led to the loss of all of the things that he loved, speaking with people, telling them one of his endless array of jokes, eating and drinking his favorite foods, walking for exercise and his independence.  During his recent hospitalization, Scott and Elizabeth honored his final wishes and arranged for him to return to his private room in his board and care with hospice services.  David answered God's call and passed away peacefully in his sleep on Saturday evening, May 3, 2014 at the young age of 73.  He is now in heaven and while we are saddened by his death, we rejoice in his homecoming and the knowledge that we will see him again.