I first met David Chappius at the Gateway Computer Club of St. Louis, MO., an Amiga computer club. Dave had previously met John Koen, our common friend, there at other meetings. When David's mother died, he moved from his home town of Saint Genevieve MO. into an extra room John Koen had. When John Koen met his future wife on the Internet, he moved to New York, leaving David his house for a price, leaving David his job at Hardees, and leaving David his friend, me.
Dave was best know for whining and complaining. While many would not consider that a positive feature, it was how he learned at a very young age to cope with life and its problems, and I don't fault him for it. Whenever we ate out together, perhaps twice a week, he always had to find something to complain about. He had a keen eye for detail, but could only apply that keen sight to others, never himself. He and I did have many fun short trail hikes in Marquette State Park and Beaver Dam Lake as well, as well as sharing some movies and local sightseeing and shopping.
His mother's friend, 91 year old Sue Spytek of Columbia Illinois, called me Sunday afternoon on 8/24/08 and asked me if I had seen him. Dave had been taking chicken to Sue nearly every Sunday, after he baked biscuits for Hardee's on Saturday and Sunday mornings the previous few years. I looked up Hardee's phone number and gave it to Sue since that was the last place Dave should have been. They told her they would call her back, which indicated to me something wasn't right. Sue called me back 40 minutes later, tearfully saying that David Chappius died on the job that Sunday morning, and apparently Hardees did not know who to contact.
One claim to fame Dave can make his that he had but 2 automobiles in his entire life, while I personally went through 20 or more in just 6 years! In 1991, Dave bought a new 1991 Chevrolet which finally failed him completely in July 2008. He traded it for a nearly new 2007 Ford Focus, but didn't even have time to make a single payment on it before passing away.
Dave loved building science fiction models and rockets, though in his last two years he had lost interest in them and was spending practically all of his free time at home watching TV or DVDS. He did have a weekly visit, often more, to the Wood River Do-Nut Shop where he was known and recognized by the regulars.
He had spent 20 years in the Air Force and merited his funeral at Jefferson Barracks Memorial in St. Louis. The funeral was very professional and in my opinion, extremely well done. It was a small gathering of his four sisters, some of their immediate family, along with Sue Spytek, her son, and myself. A group of his Hardees co-workers went to the viewing held in Eureka, Missouri, which I did not attend, while the co-workers did not attend the funeral itself.
May Dave rest in peace, though if given the chance to complain about something, I imagine he will!