RIP Tiki David

A little bit ago Donna, Davids wife notified me that David lost his heart battle today. It's ironic that I received this news as I'm sitting with good friends here at Porcos a place that he provided much of the tiki memorabilia to in his own backyard. Join us in raising our drinks to celebrate and send off one of our greats.

:(

That is very sad to hear. My condolences.

Tiki David contributed so much to Tiki Central over the years and although I never met him face to face we did exchange plenty of personal messages and I rather liked the guy.

Sure, he had a way about him that drove some people batty--how many times did people ask for prices when he posted something for sale ? Makes me smile thinking about how every time he posted an item on the Marketplace thread that I knew what post would be coming next :)

His Witco scores alone make him something of a legend among us tiki hunters. Whenever anyone found anything Witco we quickly compared it to something he had just found and it was only a matter of time before he found yet another amazing score to blow us away.

I will miss his posts and I offer nothing but sincere condolences to his family, friends and our Ohana that may only have known him via this forum but knew him nonetheless.

All the best xoxox

Tiki David!

Give all the other Tiki Freaks in the sky hugs from us down here.

You will be missed!

Sorry to hear that, he had some VERY cool Tiki stuff.

On 2014-03-27 19:55, SandraDee wrote:
Tiki David contributed so much to Tiki Central over the years and although I never met him face to face we did exchange plenty of personal messages and I rather liked the guy.

Sure, he had a way about him that drove some people batty--how many times did people ask for prices when he posted something for sale ? Makes me smile thinking about how every time he posted an item on the Marketplace thread that I knew what post would be coming next :)

His Witco scores alone make him something of a legend among us tiki hunters. Whenever anyone found anything Witco we quickly compared it to something he had just found and it was only a matter of time before he found yet another amazing score to blow us away.

I will miss his posts and I offer nothing but sincere condolences to his family, friends and our Ohana that may only have known him via this forum but knew him nonetheless.

All the best xoxox

^
I could not have said this better myself. I always enjoyed reading David's posts and was extremely curious about all of his finds, especially his Witco posts. We lost another great contributor to the threads and to the site.

Condolences to David's family.

Psycho Tiki D

Wish I had managed to get to meet him. Will miss him around here. Amazing collector.

I went through a bit of David's posting history. He was definitely an active poster, but it was sad to see that his first post was on April 8, 2004. He almost made it to ten years. Condolences to everyone who knew him.

He was an great contributor to Tiki Central, consistent in his amazing finds and not afraid to ruffle feathers on occasion. The Collecting Tiki forum will not be the same with out him. :(

I met David for the first time a little over a year ago. Everyone knows David was a great collector, but what many of you may not know is the passion and the knowledge he had for Tiki. I hung with him for a about 4 hours the first time listening in awe of the stories and history he shared and every time I saw him after that it was more of the same. For many of the pieces he had he would go into the full story of where it had come from, who had owned it, when it passed hands, the complete history. David wasn't just about the acquisition of the object, he wanted to know it's provenance and he wanted to share that with people.

I only knew David a short a time but I owe him a lot and I consider it an honor to have known him and considered him a friend. Those that knew him know what we have lost.

David was a true one-of-a-kind person, and genuinely loved Tiki and the hunt for treasure. He was a modern pirate.

I hope Donna doesn't mind me saying that he is to be cremated and placed in the God of Fortune as per his wishes. He is still one-upping everybody. :)

The list of people I need to get a drink with first in heaven just got one stronger. RIP David.

NO!
Thoughts & prayers go out to his family & friends. Over the years, I had many interactions with TD. He never ruffled my feathers. I always looked at him as a great contributor to TC. Don't even get me started on the amazing stuff he found! I, for one, will absolutely miss his presence here.
Godspeed, my friend.
Rick

My condolences to his family and friends.

Amazing urban archaeologist, collector and contributor to TC. His ability to find Witco and many other obscure pieces was legendary.

We had pm'd several times over the years and I always found him to be a solid and stand-up guy. I regret and wish that I had met him in person. My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Rest in Peace, Tiki David.

My condolences to his family.

My condolences to his family. His witco posts always made me smile.

Another sad loss in the Tiki community. RIP Tiki David, and my condolences to the family.

I especially liked to check the Beyond tiki finds he posted. Cool stuff and lots of photos to drool over. I wonder though, not to be insensitive, but why does it now say DEAD after his username and number of posts??? Is that of his own doing? If that is his sense of humor posted because he knew his time was short, that's a brave yet humorous sign off. We'll miss ya David!!!!!!

On 2014-03-31 21:25, 8FT Tiki wrote:
... I wonder though, not to be insensitive, but why does it now say DEAD after his username and number of posts??? Is that of his own doing? If that is his sense of humor posted because he knew his time was short, that's a brave yet humorous sign off. We'll miss ya David!!!!!!

Tiki David will certainly be missed. And thanks 8FT Tiki, I wasn't aware of that! I can confirm that only he or somebody he entrusted with his TC password made that modification.

On 2014-03-31 21:25, 8FT Tiki wrote:
I wonder though, not to be insensitive, but why does it now say DEAD after his username and number of posts??? Is that of his own doing? If that is his sense of humor posted because he knew his time was short, that's a brave yet humorous sign off. We'll miss ya David!!!!!!

That was Dave. He always had that morbid sense of humor, and would start most messages or emails when he got sick with "Not dead yet!' or "Still above ground here!"

It's been super hard to put into words what Dave meant to our place, and myself. Tiki Toli really put it in perspective when we were sitting there discussing how Dave had essentially introduced the group of us. Toli, John, happy buddha, myself, and others were all introduced either directly or indirectly through Dave. His excitement, support, and generosity in getting our place open will forever be remembered. It's rare in this day and age that you can start out doing business with an individual, and in the end call them a true "friend", but that's exactly what happened with us.

There is so much we owe Dave regarding the reception and success of our venture at Porco. As a friend, i have accumulated a debt that can never be repaid. I will continue to think of Dave every day I walk into work, and remember him not only through the "things", but the people and new friends he brought into my life.

In this day of anonymous forums, it's interesting the vision your mind creates of an individual behind a screen name. His wife Donna was kind enough to share a picture of him with his buddy "Harley", and wanted me to share with you here.

And our memoriam from Porco...
https://www.facebook.com/porcolounge/posts/664198983639863

Cheers Dave, you will be dearly missed.

"That was Dave. He always had that morbid sense of humor"
Very true, I thought it was an April fools joke.

My wife and I met David like four times and one of these times he gave us two cool tiki lights from the Kon Tiki.
We were able to take him to dinner here at the Windward Passage as a small thank you.

But the thing is here on TC some people thought of him as a money grubbing old crank,
but when we met him in person this was not how he was.
We will miss David and his posts.

It's funny how the people who are seen as grumpy or negative here on TC are nine times out of
ten the ones who add the most GOOD info to this place called TC.
I think it is their passion that makes them so animated and come off as negative.
Soon TC will be left to the glad handing baby kissers, Two thumbs up to you.(Tipsy gets that joke)

I would say rest in peace David, but instead will say give em hell David as you did in life.
Most of them deserve it.

Well said Skip!

Not been checking in on TC much lately, but was saddened to read of Tiki Davids passing.

Whilst I had very little personal interaction with him, I always found his posts either informative, enlightening or sharp witted/tongued (often all at the same time).

His passing will be a great loss to the site.

My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

RIP Tiki David, I'll raise a mug to you tonight.

Sad news. I really enjoyed reading his posts. Great stuff.

RIP Tiki David.

This thread is just a reminder to me that we tend to save the words of praise until after someone is gone. Let's use Tiki David's passing as a reminder to verbally appreciate the ones who are still here. Let someone you care about know how much you appreciate them, and why.

Immortalize your name for eternity by contributing to The Tikipedia!

T-shirts based on vintage tiki matchbooks: TikiTees

[ Edited by: TikiTacky 2014-04-14 10:28 ]

I've not been here in awhile, and just saw the posts about Tiki David. RIP David-you are missed. I appreciated your knowledge of Witco, and your helpful replies.

Today is Tiki Dave's birthday. Whether you're at the Hukilau, local watering hole, or home bar, remember to tip one back in his honor.

Cheers Dave, and thank you.

Donna (Tiki David's wife) is holding a memorial for David at her home in August. . . all are welcome . . . see the details below. Please RSVP if you plan to attend. Thank you.

RIP David

You know it is said that his ashes are set inside a Witco tiki.
I have been told this is a fact.

Wonder if it is marked that way or not.

It is a fact. In the god of fortune. He was a helluva dude, even in his way-too-soon demise. I miss him

I liked David,
Is it marked, Here lies Tikidavid or anything like that?

That is legendary.