David Medack

There was one thing that Dave Medack would never change about his life—his family. A loving husband and a devoted father, Dave shared his happiness each day with Renie, Chris, and Annie. He loved all the time that he spent with his family, and in their company you could always find a familiar smile on Dave’s face.

In the year 1947, Americans everywhere were happily settling into the post-war era. As the Second World War receded into history, people turned their attention onto family. Soon the baby boom was underway, and Robert Medack and his wife Alberta Oswald were among the many expecting parents. On July 17, 1947 their son David was born in their hometown Millvale, just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here Robert earned a living as a steel worker, while Alberta tended to her newborn and watched after the house.

Dave was raised in Millvale. His father, who was regarded as a tough, old guy around town, raised his son in the Catholic Church. Dave also attended Catholic School through the twelfth grade. Though Dave was one of two children, his sister, who was twenty-one years older, was more like a second mother. As a youngster, Dave liked to play with his army men, and even later in life he would enjoy toys like Lego’s. As he grew older he showed promise as an athlete. Dave loved sports, and at two-hundred and fifty pounds and just under six feet tall, he was a big time center on his football team; but he also happened to be the smallest guy on the team! He also played softball and volleyball, and would continue to play both throughout his life.

After high school, Dave attended the University of Pittsburgh and graduated in 1969. During college, and for some time afterwards, he was a part of the Army Reserves. He earned his B.A. in fine arts, and after graduation began working at Ford Motor Company in Pittsburgh. He would quickly rise to the level of warranty representative, a job which would require him to visit many different dealerships. As a bonus, though, he always drove nice, new Fords.

Around this time, Dave met the love of his life at an award ceremony at a local car dealership in Pittsburgh. Her name was Yvonne Staiger, but her friends all called her Renie; eventually she told Dave that her nickname meant that she opened up to people easily, like a tangerine. Renie was nineteen years old. She immediately felt that Dave was a straight-laced, suit-and-tie kind of guy, but she soon learned otherwise. He asked if she’d like a drink; “I’ll have whatever you’re having,” she replied. He returned with two scotches on the rocks, and the strength of the drink certainly surprised her. People had tried to fix Dave and Renie up before, but this time it had actually stuck.

Dave asked for her number, but he waited two weeks before calling her. But finally he asked her out, and they visited a local bar. He was wearing jeans with braiding down the side, a hip fashion statement at the time. Renie certainly preferred it to the suit geek she first met. They were at the Marriott Hotel Bar, and Dave tried to act as if this were his usual hang-out. He tried to play the big shooter, but from that night on, he took her out to the Millvale Dive bar instead. It was more his style.

At an Allman Brothers concert in 1973, Renie said to Dave, “Why don’t you ask me to marry you?” Right then he popped the question, and by next year the couple was married in the Heinz Chapel.

In the year 1977, Ford Motor Company transferred Dave to their Dearborn office, where he would do advertising and warranty work. He and Renie found in Livonia, just outside of Dearborn, a place to settle down. It was in this house that Dave and Renie welcomed their child into the world. In 1978 their son Christopher was born.

Dave was a devoted father who cherished all the time he spent with his son. He often refereed soccer games, and occasionally ran one of his son’s games. Once, he gave his own son a red card. Dave also kept involved in his son’s boy scouts, soccer, and fishing. Whatever Chris wanted to do, Dave was up for it. He never once caught a fish, and he hated camping, but he enjoyed himself if Chris was enjoying himself. He would even canoe with his son, though he dreaded this most of all! He disliked being in a boat if it meant getting his clothes wet. But Chris loved it, and so they did it all the time together.

Every Sunday Dave brought the family together. Often times they sat in the family room and watched the Steelers game; everything in the household stopped when the Steelers were playing. On Sundays they also went for car rides, sometimes to visit a farm, other times to hike around the Ludington area or ride horses.

Education was important to Dave, and he emphasized it in his son’s life. Dave was the parent who tried to motivate his son to get his homework done, while Renie would actually do the homework for him. He was very well read and a huge history nut, the sort of guy you would call if you were on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Another pleasure for Dave was cooking. Though Renie was content with a dinner of Mac and Cheese, Dave loved to prepare gourmet treats for his family. Chris spent a lot of time in the kitchen with his dad, and today he is an executive chef!

In the year 1985, Dave left his job with Ford and began bartending full-time at the Pelican Club in Dearborn. Where he would meet a life long friend Rowden. He became a fixture at the bar, earning the nickname “Dollar Dave.” He was always a sucker for the ladies, and he bought a lot of dollar drinks for the gals.

In 1986, Dave interviewed with Haworth Furniture Company in Holland. When he got the job, he picked up his family and moved there. It was in this home, a few years later in 1991, that the Medacks added another member to the family. A young woman unexpectedly entered Dave’s life. Fourteen years old, her name was Annie. She had arrived in Holland after life problems sent her running from her family’s home in Pittsburgh. She asked if she could live with him. Dave demanded that she ask her mother, but from this point on, Dave had his first daughter.

Dave always looked after Annie and protected her. He raised her, and encouraged her as if she were his own daughter. When she was married, he joined her natural father to give her away at her wedding.

Dave enjoyed the company of his pets. He always kept a few around the house, from guinea pigs to ferrets, cats, and raccoons. Over the years he had five raccoons and fourteen ferrets. He also liked dogs, snakes, and fish. He ordered a newspaper on Sundays, but that was only so that the ferrets would have a toilet. He also kept the coupons. Dave was very cheap and tight with his money. His favorite dog was Akesha, a Samoyed white haired sled dog; in his later years he never went anywhere without her.

In 1989, Dave experienced his first heart problems while watching the Pistons game. Joe Dumars and Vinny Johnson were running the court, and it was the first year the Pistons won! But Dave celebrated the victory amid new concerns about his heart condition. In the coming years, he would have open heart surgery and an angioplasty. He was being considered for the heart transplant , but to no avail. On March 10, 2005, he was sent home from the hospital with a case of pneumonia. Still, Dr. Young wanted to get him on the transplant list.

Dave left a letter with his son, to be read only after his passing. In the letter, Dave does not claim to be the best. He simply identifies the three things in his life which he would never change:

1. I would still marry your mother She was my soul mate and the love of my life. I could not conceive of living my life with out her being part of it. I love her more than life itself.2. I would have brought Annie into our lives. I loved her like the daughter we never had. Keep her close, always!3. I would have had no other man for a son but you! I loved you more than you will ever know and even in death I love you still. I was so very very proud of you. I know you will be a fine father and a fine man, because I have seen these things manifest in you already.

Dave died on Monday, March 15, 2005 in Holland, Michigan. His family includes: wife Yvonne Medack of Holland, MI. Children Son Christopher and Amy Medack of Missouri; daughter Annie and Bruce Mangum of Michigan, one grand daughter Ember leanne Medack; mother in law Germaine Staiger; many nieces, nephews, and cousins. Services are 2 p.m. Friday at The Northwood Chapel Dykstra Life Story Funeral Home 295 Douglas Ave. Holland, MI. Visiting is from 7-9pm Thursday at the Northwood Chapel Dykstra Life Story Funeral Home; 295 Douglas Ave. Memorials may be made to Harbor Human Society of Holland MI or to Maple View Animal Hospital of Holland, MI. To sign Dave’s guestbook or to archive a memory, please visit his personal website at