We have been distracted lately, but I received word on the morning of Kellan's party that someone had passed away and I wanted to post about it.
Before Andy and I dated, I dated Chris for two years. His family is awesome. Seriously. I loved being a part of it. He is one of eight kids (4 boys 4 girls) and I've never met a family so close and welcoming. Everyone would go to the football games or events, hang out on weekends, etc. His sister Megan even watched Sawyer for almost a year after he was born, and I remain on friendly terms with all of them. Chris's favorite was definitely his brother David. He was his idol and they even looked like each other (well, they all look the same but those two more than the others.) I think they are about 8 years apart. We used to go to their house and hang out with him and his wife Stacy almost every weekend and would often watch their first daughter so they could go out.
I haven't seen them (apart from Facebook) in a few years since I would run into them at Megan's house, but David was diagnosed with some pretty advanced cancer a few years ago. I know they tried several different treatments, and a couple months ago after nothing was working, they decided to stop all treatments. It was devastating knowing he wouldn't make it, and just watching him wither away. I couldn't imagine how hard that would be. They now have two girls (I think 4 and 6ish) and they had to deal with something so hard at such a young age. David was able to have a "celebration of life" as a type of funeral before he passed away so everyone could say bye. I worked that night and hadn't seen them in awhile and I felt like I would have been intruding on something so intimate so I didn't attend even though I was invited.
My heart breaks for the English family and especially Stacy and the girls. She said it is a little relief that he isn't suffering and she doesn't have to constantly worry about him and take care of him, but of course it is devastating. It isn't fair that such a great family is suffering.
Here is his obituary from the Tacoma News Tribune:
David Edward English, III Age 34, of Enumclaw, WA, quietly passed away early Saturday morning, April 5, 2014 after a two year battle with cancer. He was born in Seattle, WA on August 1, 1979 to David English, Jr. and Christine (Scott) English of Spanaway, WA. David is survived by his wife Stacy Maye (Knatz) English and their two children Madelyn and Taylor, his father-in-law Phillip Knatz, mother-in-law Maye (Belcher) Kantz, sister-in-law Jeana Gerber (Cal), his sisters Jennifer Allen (Theodore), Erica Huntsman (Keith), Sara Peltzman (Glen), Megan Hill (Chad); and his brothers Nicholaus English (Ashley), Christopher English and Jeffery English. He is also survived by grandfathers David English, Sr., Douglas Scott and grandmother Elizabeth (Baker) Scott, two great aunts, E. Chris (Abner) Wykoff and Beverly (English) Curtis and 3 aunts and 6 uncles. David was preceded in death by his grandmother Clara Francis (Abner) Larson. He was a 1997 graduate of Bethel High School in Spanaway, WA. He was a member of Iron Workers Local 86. A celebration of life was held at the Enumclaw Senior Citizen's Center on Friday, March 14, 2014.
Link: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tribnet/obituary.aspx?n=david-english&pid=170584876
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