I've said on here 1000 times how much admire true loyalty. It's at or near the top of the list of attributes I value.

 

While I'm blessed with a couple of true friends that will be loyal til my last breath I could always use more loyal friends who are as loyal as my guy RTS.

 

So while I pray for the soul of our friend Dave I also pray for those that are still with us who loved him so . Dave is no longer feeling any pain. His friends are filled with pain and sadness. I pray for you all.

Thank you for the kind words but I was always so humbled by Dave's devotion as a friend to me and so many others. I pray also for all of his friends and family that are filled with pain and sadness from this tremendous loss.

Prayers for all friends and family.

The title of the thread is "Birdsfan, my friend." I contest that it should be "BF, everyone's friend" for I do not know of any living creature that didn't like David. I always admired the fortitude of BF, and mostly, his family. The way his brothers cared and looked out for him was touching. And watching his parents...especially Coach Lehkamp, nurture BF has truly been inspirational to me. I just hope that I can come somewhat close to his standard with my sons. The bar is set high. Jeffrey, Michael....the ache is immense for you I'm sure. But take solace in knowing that David is in the Lords' ballfield now. Pain free and playing hard...just like his brothers did! And come this fall, he will be on that big blue rail in the sky, looking over DCM along with all the other faithfully departed Birds' such as Mike Dunn, Mitch Waldenmeyer , Francis Giglia et al... rooting for another HHS victory. And as such, he will never leave our hearts! Prayers up for David, the Lehkamp family, and all of BF's BGP family!

Edited March 22, 201412 yr by hoops5

I have spent the last few days in a state of disbelief, and numbness at the realization that my friend David was leaving us. I met Dave through the BluegrassPreps.com site over 10 years ago. I never dreamed that an internet chat room would lead to a deep and lasting friendship. And I never dreamed that someone with a screen name "Birdsfan" would come to be such a big part of my life.

 

Once I was able to meet Dave in person, I realized that all the fears that his "internet persona" was just a keyboard fiction were wholly unfounded. Dave was genuinely that passionate HHS Bluebird fan, that genuinely caring, giving and generous friend. I was honored to be invited to his "Trach Divorce Party" and to his Confirmation.

 

Because of Dave, and his steady, generous friendship, I made it through some of the toughest times in my life. Without his encouragement and support, I would have given up. And I mean that. There were times I felt I had no where to turn and I felt that I had no strength to go on. Dave was there, encouraging me, helping me in every way he possibly could, pushing me forward. There were far too few times that I was able to see Dave in person. But I remeber each of those times in great detail, with great clarity. I have always, and will always, treasure those times as among the most special in my life. In these last couple of years, I haven't gotten to talk to Dave as much as I wanted. I let work get in the way. My deepest regrets will always be that I always thought there'd be "another weekend" when I could get away.

 

Dave meant a great deal to not only me, but my kids. Both of them are truely upset by this news. You see, his friendship had an impact on their lives as well. I never (another regret) told Dave how much he inspired me, how much he changed me, how his friendship made me commit to being a better person each day. That his unwavering support helped me find confidence in myself, and helped me grow to be a stronger person. Words are inadequate to describe the loss I feel, the loss each of us feels, I imagine.

 

There's such an emptiness that I am at a loss to understand right now. I do know this, though. If I can touch even half the people in the way that Dave has touched so many, I will have lived a blessed life. And, I hope this doesn't sound cliche, because I truely mean this...I want to honor him by committing to living my life in the example that Dave has set. Dave's friendship was a true gift in my life. I am honored to have been chosen as one of his friends.

 

I will miss you so very deeply, my friend. But I will still be talking to you. And I know you're up there with my dad, and you guys are going to have a grand time laughing at my earthly mishaps. But, get my dad to tell you about my childhood clumsiness...those stories will rival the adult stories that you already know. And, please, take care of Lucky till I get there. I know he loves you. And that's funny...because you and my dad are among the few people he loved that weren't me. Till we meet again....

I’m just devastated, as many of you know, Dave was my best friend and was always thought of and treated as a member of my family and I was treated in kind by him and his wonderful family. This has hit me really hard because I love the guy. The solace for me in all this is seeing how much people thought of Dave. The outpouring of love and support for him and his family has been tremendous and that is a testament to what a terrific guy Dave was and how he touched so many lives in such a kind, gracious and warmhearted manner.

Driving home today hit me particularly hard because I would often call him on my way home from work to see how he was doing or how he was feeling and he would get such a kick out of me road raging to some degree and just laugh and tell me how much he loved “the four o’clock therapy calls”, the therapy being for me of course. It hit me that I will never get to do that again and I pretty much lost it. Odd how powerful something like that can be.

I remember Dave asked me a few weeks ago to pray and ask others to pray that he would be able to be here long enough to do God’s work and that was all he really wanted. I thought to myself, Dave you’ve been doing God’s work all these years and don’t even realize it, and that was only because he always wanted to give more.

Dave meant so much to me and if only I had the God given talent that he was blessed with I’d be able to eloquently express it to you, but I don’t have that gift so all I can tell you is I loved him and always will. He will forever be in my heart and forever a part of me. I will never forget his kindness and compassion, how he helped me through tough times like last year when I lost my mom. His spirituality was not only admirable; it was inspiring and infectious in a very positive way. He was so kind and generous to others and without concern for himself, always eager to help anyone that needed it. He made me a better person and a better Christian even though I’m still not half the man he was and I doubt I ever could be.

I sit and think of all the wonderful times Dave and I had, the fun we had, how I corrupted him as he would jokingly say. I think of how much he meant to me and my family, how he was always there for us. I think of how giving he was, how compassionate, kind, and forgiving. I think of how brilliant he was all the while being humble. I think of all these things and say, thank you dear God for blessing me all these years with the most wonderful, dear friend that anyone could ever have the privilege to be blessed with. I am forever grateful for his friendship and the time we had.

 

Praying for you RTS, Rockmom, and the many whose lives Birdsfan touched. And I think it's fair to say you can't get much more eloquent in your description of a great person so many were blessed to cross paths with. :thumb:

 

Spindoc and Watusi brought my perspective to light when they mentioned a vibrant, healthy, child of God with his Father in Heaven. This vision provides me with peace and brings a smile to my face. However short lived, I'm thankful to have met you birds fan and will work diligently to honor you by walking a stronger path as a believer in Christ and building stronger friendships. This is the legacy you left and it's a beautiful one!

 

Enjoy the skybox seats as our journeys continue...

I have not been on facebook or BGP for a while because my dad had two strokes and we had to place my mother in law in a nursing home. When I was checking to see what was going on, I saw this. I am DEVISTATED. I can not read what everyone has posted due to the fact that I am in shock. Dave was one of the main reasons why I joined BGP. I met him as well as many of my dear, dear friends that I refer to as my BGP family when PH lost his legs. I did not know this man at that time, however, he was on the phone with me in the wee hours of the morning while I sat by PH's bedside in the hospital. He was full of empathy, friendship, prayers, laughter, etc, when I really needed it.....and sometimes when I didn't. When PH's second leg had to be removed, Dave told me that at least it was not his head LOL....I really don't understand the reason why this man went through so much....I really don't. I thought things could not get much worse as they are right now and now this. I have found myself losing faith a lot lately. I have been questioning why things are going on. I did this same thing three years ago when PH was so ill in the hospital. Dave, again, was there with his prayers and knowledge. I really hate this. God, please tell Dave that he will be missed and never forgotten. Heaven really received a very special guy. We love you Dave.

I didn't get to see you very much, but I enjoyed the times that you, Mrs PH, and I shared. BGHS's first game at Trinity and the baseball game in Cincinnati will always stick in our minds, and they were great times.

 

You once called me a hero. For what it's worth, you are one as well with the light, faith, and determination that you brought to all of us to see, hear, and feel. No one can say different. I admire the fact that you touched so many lives in such a short time.

 

Take care, my friend. You may be gone from your earthly bonds, but you will always be in the hearts of all of us. God will take great care of you for sure.

I'm really sorry to hear about Dave's passing. From what I have seen on here, many people had a lot of love and respect for this man and will greatly miss him. Even though I never personally met him, I can tell that he had a strong influence on many. My thoughts and prayers will be with his family and friends.

I posted this on David's FB "Jesus take the wheels":

 

Thank you Michael. Most of it is taken from a song from Medjugorje, where I visited last June.

 

I took a photo on top of Apparition Mountain there about 1am there during the Super Moon, and didn't realize what was in the photo until two weeks later when I posted all the photos on my FB page. Dave was looking at those photos and he said that he had a feeling he would see something. He messaged me to tell me what he saw, and I was speechless.

 

The night before that photo I had a dream that I saw some figures in the sky, one an infant, and praying hands. I told a friend and a priest there the morning after the dream. In the photo Dave mentioned and pointed out there was a person holding a baby, and a head with praying hands below it! Above the praying hands you can make out the eye sockets, nose, and chin! As I said I was speechless! I know that Dave was told to look for something as I would not find it.

 

Knowing of Dave's devotion to Padre Pio I posted a photo on bluegrasspreps of a a statue of St. Pio of a 5', he was blown away of it! It meant a lot to me of his heartfelt affection! Micheal, your brother means a lot to a lot of souls! I can truly tell you he is an inspiration to me and many others, and helped me on my journey to get closer to Our Lady, our Lord, and to God!

 

I'll post that photo soon, but here is that song.

 

And here is the photo of mine that David saw the images, in the upper right hand corner.

Birdsfan was BGP. He was everything it stands for and is. He was our friend.

I haven't been able to be on BGP much because of work. I have to admit I didn't want to read BGP this week because I knew I would see this thread. I knew it would then make me realize that our Birdsfan is really gone from this earth.

 

I am going to post some random thoughts as I know Dave is looking down from heaven laughing at me (he had told me many times that he got a kick out of my random thoughts/posts.) So here's to you Dave/Birdsfan!

 

- I met Dave on here almost 10 years ago. As many of eloquently posted Dave was and still is one of a kind!!

- I met Dave couple times in the past when Rockmom and me made trips to the NKY. Dave was even more awesome in person. He was kind, caring, funny and so whitty!

- I remember early on Birdsfan and Rockmom would review some of my posts to make sure I sounded/posted like a guy. We had so many laughs from this.

- I loved Dave's ability to tell a story! He spoke in a way that you felt like you were right there with him.

- I loved giving him crap about almost running over my son with his wheelchair (scooter) at a football game.

- I loved that he appreciated my need to use the word "crap" and my obsession with tasers.

- I love that every time I see a squirrel now, I think of Dave.

- I loved his passion for life, people and trying to always be the best he could be.

 

Like others have stated in this thread Dave also helped me through some very rough times. Especially three years ago when I was diagnosed with cancer. He would send cards, texts and calls to show his support. He like several others of you on here were amazing. I only hope that it is known how much that was appreciated!!

 

I know our friend is in peace and a much better place but Dave you will be missed!! Thank you for allowing me to be your friend!!! Rest in peace!

 

Most importantly...I want to give many thoughts and prayers to his family and dear friends. I am so sorry for your loss!

Dave's funeral arrangements.

I have not been on facebook or BGP for a while because my dad had two strokes and we had to place my mother in law in a nursing home. When I was checking to see what was going on, I saw this. I am DEVISTATED. I can not read what everyone has posted due to the fact that I am in shock. Dave was one of the main reasons why I joined BGP. I met him as well as many of my dear, dear friends that I refer to as my BGP family when PH lost his legs. I did not know this man at that time, however, he was on the phone with me in the wee hours of the morning while I sat by PH's bedside in the hospital. He was full of empathy, friendship, prayers, laughter, etc, when I really needed it.....and sometimes when I didn't. When PH's second leg had to be removed, Dave told me that at least it was not his head LOL....I really don't understand the reason why this man went through so much....I really don't. I thought things could not get much worse as they are right now and now this. I have found myself losing faith a lot lately. I have been questioning why things are going on. I did this same thing three years ago when PH was so ill in the hospital. Dave, again, was there with his prayers and knowledge. I really hate this. God, please tell Dave that he will be missed and never forgotten. Heaven really received a very special guy. We love you Dave.

My continued prayers for you, PH, your dad and mother-in-law.

I know times are hard, but don't lose faith, remember Dave and with all he's been through how he kept his faith. Be strong in faith as you possibly can be, you know Dave would tell you that. Thinking of you and praying for you. God bless.

I am just back in the country and onto BGP, and I see this. My deepest condolences to his family and to the rest of his BGP family. Rest in peace our brother, and may God welcome you home.