Gone but Never Forgotten

My Friend Dave Hunter

All to often, life smacks you in the face with a harsh reminder. We are finite. Here on this earth for a short time, we better make the best of it. Such a reminder came my way about a month ago. It was a phone call from a hunting buddy, Bret. His first words sent a pang of Sorrow through me.

“Dave’s dying, and he probably doesn’t have long.’ He was referring to mutual friend who among other things had learned to carve decoys from me. This might be easier to accept were I older than my 53 years. Dave wasn’t but a few years advanced of me, certainly not ready for the great beyond. However, life’s plan often differs from ours. Dave was a ray of light in any room he was in. No matter what. He always asked you how you were doing, even if he was having a hard time, and he meant It. 
 
Even though he wasn't much older than me, He was probably responsible for my father keeping enough  of his fingers and ability to make a living after my fathers saw accident when I was a kid.

I will always be indebted to Dave for that.

He became a darn good Decoy Carver after taking one of my classes years ago. But that's not any credit to me. The credit goes to his hard work and determination.

Bret explained the diagnosis, aggressive cancer that had spread. With not much treatment options left to Dave. We commiserated on how sad it was for him, and his family.

Bret has always been a man of action and he filled me in on his plan to hold a " “benefit” sporting clays shot for Dave. I quickly agreed to donate a decoy and a Turkey call as prizes. I hoped it would help draw interest, and simply for the fact it was important to me that Dave knew how much I cared about him.

The date was set, the event publicized and soon it gained momentum. We all hoped it would be a great way to show Dave how much he was loved.

Unfortunately he passed just a couple weeks before he event. We were devastated. We did our best at the funeral to support his amazing family. I expressed my sincere condolences to His wife, daughters, son-in-laws and parents. It was such a hard day for them. Another in a string of “Hard Days” since Dave’s diagnosis. After the services we gathered our emotions and decided “The show Must Go On”, And go on it did!

To do my part I worked diligently to carve a black duck in Dave’s honor. It helped me cope with the shock of his passing, and allowed me to relive memories of the time Dave spent in my shop.

Dave painting a decoy during the Ward Foundation NEA class in my shop 2014

The decoy evolved into a unique piece for me. I based the head off of my favorite1920 Clark Madera Decoy from my collection. The body was sleek, smooth and flowing.  

The paint job featured minimalistic line work with very little extraneous blending. This was done purposely. Dave was an excellent Decoy Carver, but he said to me more than once how he "Hated painting them!" ( Even though he always did a great job)
 
I think Dave would of enjoyed this decoy and been proud of it.

Black Duck Decoy for Dave’s Shoot

Bottom View of Dave’s decoy.

The day of the clay shoot came and as I pulled into the parking lot I was shocked and pleased. Pickups trucks were everywhere. Friends, neighbors, acquaintances ( all participants) showed up in full force. Never was I so happy to to walk “a country mile” to park. Registration was quick, groups assembled, and off to the course we went. Clays were broken, clays were missed, laughs were had, memories shared. It seemed as if any moment Dave would walk out from behind the next tree and join the fun. We all knew that couldn’t happen, but guess what, somehow it did. He was there, In spirit. He brought us all together one last time, just like he always did. And for that, I’m so thankful; thankful I knew Dave Hunter, thankful we were friends, thankful for the mark of kindness he left in this world.

I will certainly miss him but I know I will see him again one day. 

Thanks for reading,
Jode