As the older sister of Dave, my memories over 62 years are far too many to retell but fall into two phases; when he was a child and when he became a man. David, as he was always called by the family when a child, was in the unfortunate position, some would say, of being one of the middle children of six. The fact that he was the recipient of many a hand-me-down home knitted jumper may well have influenced his sartorial style as an adult! I remember many happy times of visits to the ‘pictures’ on Saturday mornings clutching our penny bags of broken biscuits, family holidays to North Wales and of course the excitement of six young children on Christmas mornings. It was as a teenager that I became aware of David’s passionate interest in music, not least because it was played very loudly whenever he got the chance. Suffice to say that our musical tastes did not always concur. David was an intelligent, witty young man and it was this sense of humour that I appreciated more and more as we grew up. After leaving home Dave led a busy and active life but as a young man would occasionally ring me for advice. One time I remember he said he was going to cook a three course meal on a barbecue and needing to impress a guest he asked for my suggestions. I clearly fell short of his expectations as he never asked me for culinary advice again! It was during times of Dave’s ill health when his strength and determination impressed me most. He was always ready with a witty tale of his experiences on the wards and his attempts to regain his faculties. It was always clear he was never going to stay in hospital a minute longer than absolutely necessary. As adults, work and family life kept us busy but at family gatherings stories were exchanged and Dave would tell us proudly about Louise, Elizabeth and Michael. Their activities at school, family holidays, cubs and scouts, sporting activities, crafts and later on their own particular interests, University courses and degrees are just some of the things we would chat about. He was particularly happy about the time he had spent with them over the last couple of years and the walks they were able to do together. Dave and Jackie had three wonderful children and Dave was proud not only of the achievements of all three children but rather the young people they have become. Dave, you would have been so proud of them on Friday when they arranged such a wonderful farewell to you for your family and friends. The sense of love and affection for you was palpable and be assured that you will remain forever in our hearts. Val xxx

Just after Dave's heart bypass operation my guitar buddy, Dave Murphy, and I felt moved to write a song for, and about, Dave. We wanted to express how much we hoped for his full recovery. He was such an encouragement to us both. The song is called 'Lifeline' and I've put it on the website. But here are just a few of the words: "Feeling life might slip away, make the most of every day. Live each moment, pray for more. Find out what we came here for. Time is precious to you and me, make the best of what we see - in our time."

I worked with Dave for over 12 years and had a lot of similar tastes in music. I only bumped into him only last week in Tesco and we chatted for about 20 minutes, about this and that and how things were, y'know, the usual. I told him I was waiting for an op and he already knew I was going through a rough patch. The last thing he said to me was, "good luck, hope everything goes well." I said, "thank you" and went about my shop not knowing that that was the last time we'd meet. So Thank You again Dave, I know the last 4 years have been tough for you also. Thank You for the last words you said to me, I will draw some strength from that as those words seem more profound now. "You can shed tears that he is gone Or you can smile because he has lived You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back Or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left Your heart can be empty because you can't see him Or you can be full of the love that you shared You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday You can remember him and only that he is gone Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back Or you can do what he would want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on." Scott