[ad_1]
David Allyn Wurfel was just the most adorable child, inside and out, that Ma, Pa, Anne, Gramma, Granpa, Grams or I had ever seen. He was born to Ma on July 6th of 1955. I was so jealous of him as a baby that Pop said he caught me “cuffing” him in the crib. In my defense, that is normal sibling jealousy but also our sister Anne taught me jealousy well; when I was getting christened, she walked up to the altar and bit my big toe so hard it bled like a stuck pig and I screamed all through the ”water on the head.”
David instantly touched everyone with whom he had ever come in contact. He was, in a word, unforgettable. Ever since he uttered his first words he had a hard ‘s’ lisp. After two years of unsuccessful speech therapy, I grabbed him by the shoulders one day, scared the daylights out of him, ordered him to put his tongue hard against the back of his top teeth, and say “S!” Shaking, he said “S” and he never lisped again.
Everyone David ever touched came to love him: quickly! He was loving to all (until they crossed him!). He always gravitated toward those less advantaged than himself and offered them his loving friendship and kindness. At his essence, his spirit was “Christly with a touch of mischief.” We grew up in the small towns of Nutley, Glen Ridge, and Brielle, New Jersey. David was a member of the Glen Ridge Congregational Church. Ma and her friend Martha Hathaway ran the Antiques Show for many, many years. David was the lead ‘helper.’ He was generous to a fault.
David developed a love of vehicles, powered and unpowered, two and four wheels, at a young age. He was also a ‘boat nut’ … And the faster and crazier, the better. After crashing himself up with near-death experiences with his first rigs, I nicknamed him ‘The Cat’ (Nine Lives). His other nicknames were ‘Brocolli’ or ‘Brock’ given to him fondly by Anne and me, then ‘Ellwood’ (I was ‘Jake’), and ‘Dogboy.’ David was the dad to a slew of the dumbest, most crippled up mutts one ever saw. He was, in this lifetime, ‘Dog’s Best Friend.’ I am convinced he is already living his next life as a dog, and he is living this life as ‘Man’s Best Friend.’
David only lived till 116 days short of his 69th birthday. Some say, rightfully, “too young!” I say three things. Our dear sister only lived 23 years. That was the meaning of “too short.” He lived a ton of life in his years. “They must have needed him somewhere else, more than we needed him here,” a sentiment and theory gifted to us by Ginny Hildebrandt’s grandmother at Anne’s Memorial Service in 1973.
David was predeceased by his paternal grandparents Lester and Gertrude Wurfel, maternal grandparents Lloyd and Anna Felmly, parents Janice and Dick Wurfel, Sr., his dearest sister Anne Louise, as well as too many “friends but family.” Not to mention his dogs and dog friends.
He is survived by his ‘brudder’ Dicky and his wife Carolyn Holbrook, his nephew Ryan David Wurfel and wife Jennifer, his niece Kristen Anne Wurfel and her ‘husband unit’ Jason Ayer. He is also survived by his dearest of friends, John and Linda Gartz and their children, Patrick and Christian Randau and their children. To quote Bobby Dylan, “He had a million friends!”
As you grieve and mourn his passing, David does not want you to stop your tears from flowing, as tears are the ”Gifts of the Angels.” He does not want you to curb your laughter, as laughter is “the Gift of the Gods,” He does not want you to “stifle yourselves.” He wants you to allow yourselves to be “verklempt.”
Feel his love as you join us at his burial service at the Greenwood Cemetery in Brielle on Tuesday, April 9th. Be there by 11:45 and don’t be late! Feel his love and the love of his family and friends at the “Celebration of David’s Life” (The Life of David!) at the Point Pleasant Elks Club, 820 Arnold Avenue, Point Pleasant, after the service. Please join us, bring printed photos of David, and above all, stories of your lives together !
In lieu of flowers, David asked that you donate to his favorite charities: the American Cancer Society, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks Lodge (BPOE 1698), The Shriners Hospital, or to the charity of your choice. We will love and carry David in our hearts forever, and he will hold us in the “Palms of his Hands.”
[ad_2]
Source_link
