David Brooks Reeve Sr.

David Brooks Reeve, Sr., 75, of Independence, Missouri, passed away at home surrounded by his wife, Barbara Jones-Reeve, stepdaughter, Karen Jones, and by long distance communication with his beloved brother, John Reeve, on June 7, 2022. He is survived by his wife, stepdaughter, his three children, many grandchildren, two brothers and a sister. His parents and younger brother preceded him in death.

David was born in Ames, Iowa, on September 20, 1946. He traveled the world as a dependent of a Naval officer and like his brothers, he joined the U.S. Navy. David was a proud Seabee his entire life. He served several tours in Vietnam and earned many awards including: National Defense Medal for serving in time of war; Vietnam Campaign Medal awarded by the Republic of South Vietnam for fighting on its behalf; Purple Heart for being wounded in combat; and Vietnam Service Medal with one Bronze Star for his valor and accomplishments during wartime.

David was very proud of his service to his country, particularly of his time in Vietnam. David, a captivating storyteller, would retell many of his most fond memories like that of his favorite hobby, drinking beer. In Vietnam, David and his buddies built an icehouse and in the mornings before duty, they would haul a large trashcan to the 20-foot mounds of beer, load it up and take it to the icehouse where it would chill all day. At the end of the day, the beer would be nice and cold and primed for drinking. He looked forward to sitting around at the end of the day on ammo cans telling the day’s stories and drinking beer in the jungle.

After David completed his enlistment in the Navy, he settled in the Kansas City area. He was a member of the VFW, the American Legion and the Moose Lodge. He worked for Overhead Door as a service representative.

After retiring, David and Barbara divided their time between their home in Independence and South Padre Island, Texas. As a teenager, David lived in Spain and learned to speak Spanish fluently where he kept his love for the Spanish language and culture alive in his heart by conversing with the Texans in Spanish. One of his favorite stories from Spain was his love-hate relationship with his burro, Sancho. David would retell the story with a snicker about how Sancho would sneak up behind him and bite him in the rear end and had a scar to prove it! David and John would recall how Sancho would let the boys ride him and Sancho would head straight for the low tree branches to try and knock them off.

Rest in peace, good and faithful servant.

On June 15, 2022, David was interred at Leavenworth National Cemetery with military honors near the graves of his father, Commander John James Reeve, Jr., U. S. Navy, and his mother Vera Katherine Reeve.