David Brandenburg

David William Brandenburg AKA Doug, Dave-It, Steve, Poppy, Daddio, Papa and Da5ve (the 5 is silent) looked in the mirror and exclaimed that he “gets better looking every day!” for the last time on Sunday, August 2, 2020. While he passed away safe and warm in his sleep; he’d likely say he was killed while defending his “little tiny Marilyn” against a masked intruder or saving adorable baby bunnies from certain peril…so, let’s just say he left this world the hero that he was.

The world got lucky on March 17, 1949 when Dave-It was born in Detroit, Michigan on St. Patrick’s Day to the late Donald and Elaine Brandenburg. He was the 4^th child and was born at 4:44am giving way to a lifelong expression of “444” as “I love you”.  He grew up in the suburbs of Detroit as the sweetheart of a family of jokesters and pranksters. His favorite pastime was telling tales of past shenanigans and hijinks with his brothers Mike (Zelma), the late Denny (Dennis Charles Eugene Sebastian), Randy (Linda) and his sisters Sandra (Houston) and Linda (Roger). 

Papa was drafted and served in the U.S. Army as a Corporal in the 1^st Cavalry Division during the Vietnam War. He received the honors of: National Defense Medal, Parachute Badge, Combat Infantry Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Sharpshooter Badge and was awarded a Bronze Star Medal for his heroic achievement and acts of valor in a combat zone. When he spoke of his time in Vietnam he would choose to focus on the beauty of humanity and tell us stories of the village children that hid behind trees and giggled, or how he and his fellow soldiers hung a white sheet and watched “Oliver” by projector.

The center of Poppy’s universe was the love of his life and wife of 46 years, Marilyn.  They met as children and although their families joined forces to torment the greater Detroit area with debauchery and tomfoolery, she instantly knew he was the one. They married in 1974 and after several years raising a family in Michigan, they moved with their children to Gainesville, FL to further the reach of Brandenburg troublemaking and silliness. A devoted father and husband, Daddio worked hard, physical labor his entire life and never complained. He’d judge the temperature outside by his “sweat gauge” line on his jeans that would often be down past his knees. He’d gladly drive around North Central Florida and point out every single job he’d ever done, ever, and tell you in great detail what the job entailed. He’d frequent the VFW for a game (or two) of pool, kick your butt in Yahtzee! (the trick is to always get your upper-snuffleapagus), read the entire World Book Encyclopedia set, play a hand of poker while waiting for his nightly “best dinner he ever had!” and write purposefully misspelled love letters for you to find at random times (Da5ve wuz here and gee U R so dum but I like you aneewaze). If he happened to go on a snack run, you’d be prepared for a half-eaten bag of chips accompanied with a story of how “You wouldn’t believe it, but I happened to hit a Denny (dip) in the road, and the chip bag just burst right open and all of those chips just flew right out the window!”.

Dave is survived by his wife, Marilyn, his son Bill, his daughter Julie (Patrick), his grandsons David, Kyle, Brandon and River, his granddaughter Taea (Ricky) and his great-grandsons Oliver and Barrett – all of whom he loved more than anything else in the world…except maybe: his Harley, a cold Bud Light, a triple-decker sandwich with pickles on the side, a nice cheese slicer, a challenging game of Scrabble, both kinds of music “Country AND Western!”, burping while saying “Barack Obama”, adorable animals, “buttering all the edges” of anything, SpongeBob SquarePants, tormenting Julie with the word “spittle”, a slice of double cheese, ham, mushroom pizza, whistling Christmas songs in July, whole cashews, Jeopardy!, solving a high level sudoku puzzle, the “Well, Bust my Buttons!” and Lollipop Kids (guild) part of Wizard of Oz, Chunky candy bars, watching old westerns, mint chocolate chip ice-co-cream, Ancient Aliens and parakeet kisses. We will not list all of those who have preceded him in death, but let’s just say there’s one helluva party going on and they were elated to see “everyone’s favorite” show up with the Mike’s Hard Lemonade.

David will be missed dearly by all who knew and adored him. He had an unparalleled zest for life, silliness and kindness. He always put his family first, his selflessness was beyond reproach, and he did it all with a smile. He will live on in our hearts, minds, thoughts and laughs forever. Well-wishers are encouraged to remember to not take things too seriously and go “make some memories and laugh, laugh, and then laugh some more.”

Crevasse's Simple Cremation is honored to serve the Brandenburg Family.