Support David DeBoer’s Surviving Family
David DeBoer, a beloved father, husband, brother, uncle, and friend. On March 31st 2021, we tragically lost our Dave unexpectedly when he took his own life after dealing with addiction and mental health conditions. He certainly did not go down without a fight but this leaves his only child - Cole and wife - Maurine in a world of hurt and devastation along with the rest of his family and friends. This also leaves his wife and son in a financial bind due to multiple bills and debts including Dave’s medical/rehab bills, mortgage, loans, funeral expenses, etc.
Despite all of the pain and suffering that he was in for years, he never let it show to his family or friends and always had a smile on his face and remained positive and always put others first. This is why this is such a devastating loss to them, they never saw it coming.
David had multiple health scares that landed him in the hospital twice and multiple doctor visits over the last year. Eventually the family had got him to go to rehab in February, where he was doing so well the first two weeks until he got covid and was discharged early. He quarantined and recovered and kept up with the sobriety and was doing much better. Fast forward to the end of March, Cole had come out to visit and everything seemed to be going so well. 3 days later after Cole went back home to LA, David had taken his life at home while Maurine was at work.
The reality is that he was living with some demons and a deadly disease, that went unaddressed for a very long time due to denial. Unfortunately, it was all too little too late despite the family and brother desperately trying to get him help. Addiction unfortunately got the best of him.
It is Cole’s wish and life mission now to help spread awareness on mental health, addiction, and suicide prevention. By helping with these debts it will be a massive weight off of Maurine and Cole and we deeply appreciate any help that we can get. David was so loved and he is already missed dearly. By helping the family out, we can strive to continue to help spread awareness on these issues that must be talked about. It is heart breaking to have such an amazing man taken away from us by alcohol addiction and other mental health illness issues. But we must learn from this and prevent it from happening to as many people as possible, by all means.
Thank you from the entire DeBoer family and please reach out to us for anything! <3
•A note from your one and only son, Cole -
Things I love about my dad,
First of all, thanks for not pulling out! The real dad that I know is my best friend, my idol growing up, my sense of humor inspiration, the most selfless guy I know, smart, multi talented - with many interests, resourceful, punctual, creative, handy, tough, the ultimate provider, confident in his own skin, happy, healthy, athletic, active, a history nerd, a strong man that always made me feel safe, an ultimate supporter that allowed me to live my dreams and let me do whatever I wanted when I showed interest in something and pushed me to do it and get better no matter the time or money it took, a good cook, a brave guy that taught me to be a man, a competitor that didn’t shy away from beating me at things which made me angry and more
competitive which made me want to get better, a hard hard worker which in turn has made me one as well, a great teacher while letting me become my own person with some guidance and wisdom, a handsome fun guy with the best mustache in the world who loves his family and friends, especially his wife and son who he’d do anything for. (Sorry for the longest run on sentence of all time) I love you to death and would do anything for you Dad and I’m going to miss you more than words can explain. Thank you for bringing me into this world and for everything and I mean EVERYTHING you did. Your impact has been made and my purpose now in life is greater than ever. My life’s mission is to spread awareness about mental health, addiction, and suicide prevention. All in your honor to try and help and prevent this from happening to as many people as possible.
I got this Dad!
Love, Cole Kawika
•A note from Maureen, written by Cole -
My Mom Maurine, is hurting so much right now. Seeing and going through what she did is something I wish no one would ever have to go through. She just keeps saying “I miss him so much and wish he was still here. He was my soulmate. I’m so heartbroken, your daddy was such a good man.”
It is hard for her to put things into words right now and she’s going through a lot, so for anyone that knows her or has experience with coping with something like this, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Love you so much David, thank you for all of the great memories. Love, Mo <3
•A note from your one and only brother, Steve-
My brother David and I Grew up in younger years with a loving and happy family from the 60’s-70’s in Bellevue Washington. Our dad got us involved with the BoysClub where we spent our afternoons after elementary school until mom or dad could pick us up.
Dad taught us steelhead and salmon fishing on Whidbey Island and the Olympic Peninsula where we had a cabin out in the woods with no running water or electricity. We dug a well for water and cut wood in the summer to provide heat for the fire place in the winter. David being my older brother, taught me a lot about hunting and enjoying the outdoors. From building fires to safety of firearms.
In the late mid 70’s we went our separate ways, I went to WSU and David went to Western Washington.
In the early 80’s David gave up his bellman job at the Grand Ol’e Opra hotel and we went to Hawaii together for a new adventure, and what an adventure it was. We lived and made new friends in Waikiki. Wherever David worked he was admired and well liked among his peers. He mastered bartending and anywhere he worked he had regulars that treated him as family. Fellow employees looked up to him as being a leader or captain of the team. Maybe this occupation wasn’t the best for him but he was loved and respected and did whatever was asked of him. From Tropical fish exporter in Kona, (where he worked with his good friend Ole) to construction, to station manager of Mid Pacific Air Cargo on the island of Kauai. David was the best and again admired by everyone that worked above and along side of him.
Moving on in life in Kona, David married his favorite companion, friend, and lover, Maureen. They were soulmates, and I was lucky to be the best man. In the ‘90’s they had their one and only son Cole. The amount of love this father and son relationship is undeniable and obviously stated by Cole in his own words, earlier stated above.
Moving to Colorado Springs David once again proved his ability to go just about anywhere and be successful. Here, he worked for an airline and moved onto being an accomplished Colorado Springs Utilities Field Rep Specialist where he inspected and serviced natural gas, electric, water, and power.
Eventually David retired in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to have their dream house built. Once again my brother was out to demonstrate that “David” thing! Joining up with the Marriott Grand Dunes Hotel where he worked part time, my wife Laura and I got to witness that “David” thing! As soon as we arrived at the Marriott we were accepted like family and given room and meals at no cost for 4 days. The sudden passing of David shocked and stunned his coworkers. Tears, hugs, and stories told were very touching and we knew that he had done that “David” thing again!
Even though we were miles apart, myself staying in Kona and David with his family in Colorado and South Carolina, we still communicated and enjoyed our time together.
I will always remember my brother as a kind, genuine, and one of a kind that I will miss and love forever. He was a great brother.
His loving brother, Steve