David Eberhart

David Warren Eberhart, age 78, was born in Beloit, Kansas, on Aug. 1, 1946. He died Sept. 27, 2024. He grew up on the family farm southwest of Jewell and graduated from Jewell Rural High School in 1964. He took the bus to Kansas City and joined the US Marine Corps the day after graduation. During his four years in the Marine Corps, David played the trombone in the Marine Corps band in California and served in Okinawa and Vietnam.

When David returned to the United States, he went to work installing garage doors. David did not care for unionization and the hectic California life so he moved back to Jewell County and worked for the meat packing plant in Mankato. He moved on to building bridges for Reece Construction and then began trucking. Trucking took him to Schwan's. After a short time, he was told he had a remarkable skill set and should transfer to the maintenance department where he could advance in the company. He did that, and he advanced. He became part of the Schwan management team. At the time of his retirement in 1996, he had been with the company nearly 26 years. He was head of maintenance for many of those.

Retirement really wasn't in David's vocabulary. All along he continued to put in garage doors. Upon leaving Schwan's, he officially started his own garage door business, TD & Co., which he continued until 2021.

David's favorite past time was fixing things and talking to people. His motto was "Git'er done!" and he could do most anything.

It is common knowledge that David never met a stranger. If he didn't already know someone, he would ask, "So, where are you from?" Within the next few moments, he'd find common ground and the conversation would begin, usually becoming quite lively.

David was a great guy and often the life of the party. He could tell story after story after story (true stories), keeping people in stitches throughout all of them. A positive person, he was also determined, making sure that whatever task he started was finished and done well. If he said he'd do something, his word was good. Most of all, David was a kind, generous, loving man with a servant's heart who genuinely cared for others.

As Papa Dave, he loved laughing and playing with his grandchildren, lifting them so high they could touch their heads to the ceiling, having tea and getting his nails painted by the granddaughters, playing games and introducing them to skills such as fishing. He loved holding the children and was often the "go to" lap for a good long nap! He loved it.

David loved Jewell and his friends of all ages. The stories of his growing up never ended. Even though he lived in Salina his entire adult life, he was a familiar face in Jewell. He often simply came to just visit, put in garage doors, or help with harvest, projects and the like. He would not miss an Alumni or Corn Show weekend.

David attended the Lindsborg Evangelical Covenant Church. In addition to being a former volunteer firefighter, he was a proud member of the VFW, DAV, Marine Corps League and Devil Dogs, often holding an office if not at the helm. Much of his free time was dedicated to advancing these organizations and their missions.

David is survived by his wife, Deborrah, of Lindsborg; step-sons, Brian Welch (Leanna), Ben Welch (Tisha); step-daughters Ashley Abuel (Dave), Alyssa Caudill (Drake), Amanda Dick (Dustin); niece, Tambria Pfannenstiel (Mark); great-nephew, Gavin McGee; great-niece, Chloe McGee; grandchildren, Henry, Bradley, Parker, Lily, Timothy, ZoeBeth, McKenna, Genesis, Hollie, Ellis, Jonathan, Logan and Savannah.

David was preceded in death by his parents, Marvin and Marieta Eberhart; sister, Cynthia Worthing; and wife, Charlene.

Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 4, at Kleppinger Funeral Home, Jewell, Kansas.

His funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Jewell Christian Church with burial following in Jewell City Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to VFW Post 1432 or DAV, 1108 W. Crawford, Salina, Kansas 67456; Kansas Veterans Project Inc., (for homeless vets), Ralph Wedgewood, 503 Camden Drive, Salina, Kansas 67401; Jewell Christian Church, Jewell, Kansas 66949; or in care of Kleppinger Funeral Home, 409 Broadway Street, Jewell, Kansas 66949.

For online condolences, please visit kleppingerfuneralhome.com.