David C. Eklund

On Sunday, August 18th, 2019, Dave Eklund, loving husband and father of three, passed away at the age of 89.

Dave was born on January 26, 1930 in Detroit, Michigan to Angus Emil and Anna (Marsten) Eklund who were each born in Finland. In October 1950, he enlisted in the US Air Force during the Korean War, where he served as an Air Force medic for three years. On October 23, 1954, Dave married Joan Kingerley after only a one-month courtship. They celebrated over 64 years of marriage together. They raised three sons, Dave, Jeff, and Steve.

Dave was always a hard worker. He graduated from Wayne State with a bachelor's degree and eventually moved with Joan to Cleveland, Ohio. There he started a job in the purchasing department of a manufacturing company. Later, he went to work for a clothing manufacturer named Joseph & Feiss, where he stayed for several years before being laid off. He then followed his passion for cars and became a salesman for Central Cadillac in downtown Cleveland. He stayed at this position for 15 years, including a short stint as manager of the car lot. Then he tried his hand at selling Mercedes Benz and eventually came back to Central Cadillac.

After having left Central Cadillac Dave went to work part time driving a school bus. As part of this process he had to get a hepatitis B vaccine, which may have been the cause of the next part of his story.

In the summer of 1997, Dave was painting in his garage and felt "odd". He went into the house to lay down. When he awoke he could not feel anything from the waist down-- he was partially paralyzed. He was taken to the hospital and eventually diagnosed with transverse myelitis, which is an interruption of communication from the brain to the spinal cord. While in the emergency room getting MRI's, he gave his life to Christ. This began a journey for him that transformed him into a joy-filled believer.

Shortly thereafter, Joan and Dave moved to Cincinnati to live with their youngest son, daughter-in-law, and 3 grandchildren. Dave lived there with Joan until his passing (over 21 years). Dave and Joan began attending Faith Church after the move. The members embraced them. This community was one of the highlights of his life.

When Dave was younger, he was an avid dancer and golfer. He and Joan were animal lovers, having Golden Retrievers for most of their lives together. He was interested in the economy and politics. For the last 21 years, Dave consistently strived to help others (sometimes whether they wanted the help or not). He enjoyed going to breakfast at Bob Evans with many friends and family. He was also very involved in an investment club.

During his last months on this earth, he was greatly looking forward to seeing his Savior face to face.

Dave was preceded in death by his father and mother, Angus and Anna, his two older brothers Ralph and Art, and two of his sons, Dave and Jeff. He is survived by his wife, Joan, his son, Steve, his grandchildren (Little David, Stacey, Cindy, Jessica, Rachel, Zac, and Shiloh) and great grandchildren (Will, Luke, Blake, Zander, Tae, Cole and Samantha). A funeral service will be held on Thursday, August 29th at Faith Church in Milford OH. Visitation will be from 5:00pm to 7:00pm and funeral will be from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. The address of the church is 5910 Price Rd, Milford, OH 45150.