Memorial Fundraiser in Honor of David Ebejer

John “Dave” David Ebejer Jr. passed away on December 7th, 2022, surrounded by his loving family, and the sweet sounds of Motown.

He was taken from us far too soon by a terrible disease: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, or IPF. In lieu of flowers, we are asking those who wish to honor David with a remembrance donation to do so via this fundraiser. All donations will be distributed to non-profits to help fund IPF/ILD research, as well as related support groups, both of which we have found to be sorely and terribly lacking. Thank you.

More about David:

David is survived by his devoted wife of 50 years, Sherry Ellen (née Berndt); daughter Shannon (Christopher) Eggleton; son Marcus (Kelly), and grandchildren Adalynn, Breslynn, Caden, Carter, Eleanor, Megan and Maxwell. David was predeceased by his sister, Johnene (Robert) Krukow.

He also leaves behind two “daughters of the heart,” Karen (I’on) Parisien and Holly (Raymond) Berndt-Hilu, one “son of the heart,” Jon (Meagan; Riqué) Eggleton, three “grandchildren of the heart,” Charles, Ella and Diesel, one “sister of the heart,” Angela “Cookies” Wiseman, and many, many, many more family, "family" and friends who loved, admired and adored him (travel buddies, we’re looking at YOU).

David was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Maria and John, on May 29th, 1947, and was the youngest of two children. Later on, his stepfather, Harold, served in the Army, which allowed him to spend several of his formative years living on an American base in Germany, a country he quickly learned to love.

After graduating from Manhattan (KS) High School in 1965, he was drafted into the military (Army), and trained as a radio technician. And as fate would have it, he was then lucky enough to be sent back to Germany in 1966, where he served for three years. He would describe that time as some of the most exciting years of his life (time that would also, eventually, provide fodder for some of the most entertaining stories he would ever relay to his kids and grandkids).

In 1969, David came back home to Detroit and that same year, met his wife, Sherry. He promptly swept her off of her feet, utilizing a dazzling and hypnotic combination of a same-year Ford Mustang Fastback, gloriously shiny and loudly patterned disco-wear and very, very cool matching jewelry (also, belt buckles). They married in 1972, settling in Redford Twp., Michigan, where they resided for 42 years, before moving to their current home in West Bloomfield, Michigan, in 2014. This move officially made them one of the only retirement-aged couples ever to decide to “upsize” rather than “downsize” at this particular life stage.

David spent his career as a telephone mainframe technician, starting at Michigan Bell in 1974 and staying with the organization also known as SBC and Ameritech (and SBC-Ameritech) until his retirement 35 years later in 2009 from the company by then referred to as AT&T. He was a proud union man, and a member of the Telecommunication Workers of America (TWA) from his first day until his last.

David was fiercely loyal. He loved his wife, children, grandchildren, family, “framily” and friends with everything he had. If you were a part of his life, the one thing you never, ever doubted was how much he cared for you. And if you had the great good luck to be his wife, child, grandchild, or close friend, then you knew that he would drop everything to be by your side supporting you however and whenever needed. (Yes, even on the days you may have been driving each other nuts, as family and friends often do.)

He was also one of the most naturally curious humans ever to walk this Earth, a huge Detroit sports fan (even when they didn’t deserve it one single bit), a lover of any and all horribly-off color and weird humor, an enthusiastic petter of dogs and talker-to of random people, an admirer of (well-designed, not boxy-looking!) cars, and a passionate fan of music that ranged from The Beatles to Phantom of the Opera to — yes really — Sia.

Most especially, Dave was a man who would do absolutely anything to make his kids and most importantly to him, his grandkids, laugh. In fact, his devotion to his grands was so strong that he even accepted the official title of “Gimpy” from half of his grandchildren, just because they needed something to rhyme with Gimmie, which was itself already a corruption of Sherry’s “grandmother” name “Grammy” (as bestowed upon her by Breslynn). Because Max could not say “Grammy” when he was small, Sherry became Gimmie, and then David, Gimpy, so in all honesty, “Gimpy” is really all Max’s fault).

Although David has left this world, he will be forever and ever (and ever) in our hearts.

To that end, we invite you to join us for a celebration of his life on Saturday, December 17th, at One Under Golf Course, 35780 Five Mile, Livonia, Mi 48154. Please come as you are (David hated suits with the burning passion of a thousand suns), bring your funny David stories, and feel free to arrive any time and stay as long as you’d like between the hours of 11:30 am and 3:30 pm. We look forward to remembering him with all of you!