David Ray Whitling

David Whitling was born in Concord California on October 4, 1958. He was the youngest of 5 and the son of Clyde and Ruth Whitling. He spent the majority of his younger years growing up in the Bay Area, living in Castro Valley near Lake Chabot.

Dad was never traditional by any means. He met Janice Jossissen (Mom) in the 80s. While he was only in his early 20s, he knew that mom and her 3 girls was the family for him. This is where our story begins.

We kids loved him from the start. He was young, listened to really loud rock music, played Atari, and was just fun. After picking us up from school he would take us over to grandma's house where we could swim in the pool. He would run down a sloping grass hill and cannon ball into the deep end. The contest was of course who could make the biggest splash. The best thing about dad though was how happy he made Mom. While they didn't marry right away, mom finally came to her senses and said Yes.

Mom and Dad were married March 21, 1984. The day they were married us three girls were baptized. Mom and dad wanted a fresh start so we went straight from the baptism to the wedding.

At that time we lived in San Leandro, CA. The years were filled great memories camping in Big Sur, camping at Blue Lakes, ball games at the stick, and trips to Monterey. When not traveling Dad found humor in the day to day routine by doing things like rolling Kathy his older daughter up in a carpet, having a water gun fight in the house, putting the water hose through the bathroom window and dousing whoever was in the warm shower with ice cold water, or gardening out in the backyard. Every spring tomato plants, Swiss chard, and cucumbers grew.

At that time our family was a family of five: Mom, Dad, Kathy the oldest daughter was in high school, Deanna the middle in Junior High, and Melinda the youngest in elementary school. He was happy with us girls and always said that we were his and that's all he needed. His love for us was always there from the beginning.

In 1987 big news came, an addition to our family! Nathan Whitling was born in July 1987. Mom and Dad were so happy to welcome a new baby into the family. They knew more room was needed for everyone and took a leap and moved to a bigger house in Modesto California.

Our lives had changed and new memories were on their way. Kathy had married and started her life in Castro Valley, Deanna had begun college, and Mindy was in Junior High. Nate was a toddler and keeping everyone busy. Good thing we had Yosemite close by and spent more time building memories camping, and mom and dad were busy with raising the family and of course gardening in the back! Eventually the house did get a swimming pool, dad loved the idea of a pool in the backyard. We all had many barbecues out by the waterfall.

Dad spent his time working at Georgia Pacific and moved up various positions to eventually shift supervisor and the lead OSHA representative for the company. He was proud of his accomplishments at work and was always cracking jokes and making people laugh.

Vacation was the one thing dad looked forward to and took many different trips with his kids. He traveled to the Grand Canyon, Mexico, and the East Coast with Nate, Alaska and Hawaii with Kathy and Warren, and Italy and Greece with Dee and Erik. Mom and Dad always were planning the next trip, where to go and what to see next. They would spend many mornings out by the pool drinking their morning coffee and thinking about their kids and how to help them and spend time with them.

Our family continued to grow. Adriana was the first grandchild and Dad loved having a grand a little one around. He was a grandpa for the first time and he was a natural. Kathy had David his first and only grandson, so it's no surprise that Kathy chose to to name him after Dad. He knew kids and loved being around them, making it a success from the start. Shortly after Kathy had David she then had Jenny 2 years later. Nothing made dad more happier than a full house of kids! The years continued. Deanna married Erik and 2 more grandkids were added, Keana and Kalia. Melinda married Ray and had Gigi and brought in two more grandchildren into the family Dranna and AJ, and Adriana had LeiLei. A total of 7 grandchildren, and one great grandchild.

Dad spent his time working and being around the family. He continued to camp in Yosemite and trips to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. In between the trips were many family movie nights (action adventure or Sci Fi were his favorites). Put on a movie with Arnold or Stallone and he was there with the Barbeque dinner! When The Expendables came out he made sure to watch all of them!

Our family had its struggles like most families do. Our ups and our downs. The one thing that always held true was his love for everyone and his determination to be there for his family. We all love him so much and he will be missed so much. We just have to remember “It's never goodbye.., it's only til next time”. Love you Dad.

Please join our family to celebrate the life of David Whitling. This will be held on June 3rd, 2017 at 10:00am. We will be honoring him at Knights Ferry Recreation, Oakdale CA. The address is, 17968 Covered Bridge Rd, Oakdale, CA 95361 (209) 881-3517. Our reserved site name is Pecan Grove. We will have the site well marked. There is a $5.00 parking fee and please bring your own chairs as seating is limited.

This is a non-formal celebration per David's wishes and we would like to honor him by wearing your favorite team jersey, baseball cap , concert shirt (of course hard rock attire totally acceptable) or tie die shirt.

Please RSVP by May 27th at [email protected] or you may call Kathy at (510) 733-6614 or Mindy at (209) 604-4157, or on Facebook. Catered lunch immediately to follow and if you would like to bring a dish let us know.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that if you choose to donate please give to the Monterey Bay Aquarium to further the efforts of conservation for all mankind. Your contribution will go towards a plaque in his honor that will be displayed at the aquarium for 1 year. Please view the website at http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/support-us/ways-to-give/honor-a-loved-one for further instructions.

For those who need lodging we have secured at the Ramada Inn a rate of $75.00 per night. However, you must bring this invitation to get the special rate. We highly suggest those that need lodging make reservations immediately for there is a limited amount of rooms. The address is: 1720 Sisk Rd, Modesto CA. The phone number is: 209-577-3825. The contact person at the Ramada Inn is Joshua Ledesma if there are any issues.

In closing, Our family sincerely thanks each one of you for the care and love you showed towards David. He is now resting in the arms of God.