Tuesday, February 4, 2020
I had the pleasure of hunting for a week up in Maine once with Dave, and I will never forget it. He was a master storyteller and a true gentleman. Until maybe 15 years ago my dad, Don Williams, went to camp every year and considered Dave one of his closest friends.
Dave contacted me last October after hearing my mother had died and that Dad was struggling with dementia and in nursing home care. We had a few long conversations and began texting, sharing stories about Maine and filling each other in on where life had taken us over the years. He wrote to my Dad a few times recently, and always told me to "give Don a big hug and tell him that ol' Dave Peck loves him" - which I did. Dad could not remember many things at the end, but he remembered his good friend Dave and seemingly everything about their time in Maine.
Dad died 15 days prior to Dave. The night Dad passed, one of the first people that I called was Dave. I left a message for him, not knowing that he had been doing poorly. I regret not having another chance to speak with him, and to thank him again for caring so much about Dad and for being a huge part of his life. Dave was even mentioned prominently in a story shared during Dad's funeral.
The fraternity of those who hunted at the camp in Maine is a small but tight one. I'm glad that Dave got one final trip up to camp last November with Darin Lord & Billy Garrison. I'm also thankful that I got to experience camp personally with Dave, Dad and the rest of the group at least once.
Angie & family - please know you are in my thoughts. You are blessed to have had such a wonderful man in your lives.
Ted Williams
