Obituary of David G. Garside

David G. Garside David Garside, an 18 year resident of Olympia, passed away of cancer on March 20, 2007. David was born September 8, 1957 to Roberta and David Garside and raised by his paternal grandparents Ted and Oreta Harris. David worked as a union pipefitter and was a member of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Local #26. During his life he was a loving father to his children and enjoyed fishing and camping as relaxation. David is survived by Peggy Garside, his wife of 26 years and mother of his children; son Nicholas Garside of Olympia; daughters, Megan Garside, Lindsay Garside, Patricia Garside, all of Olympia, and Belinda Garside of Ventura, California; 1 sister, Susan Stater of Ventura, California; step-sister, Christine Watson of Federal Way, WA; and 3 beautiful grandchildren. David was preceded in death by an infant daughter, Kelley Garside; his parents Roberta and David Garside; and his loving grandparents who raised both David and Susan, Ted and Oreta Harris. David Garside was born in California on September 8, 1957 to David and Roberta Garside. After his mom's passing when he was just four years old he was "rescued" by his Grandma Oreta and his Papa Ted (his paternal grandparents) and was raised in Carpinteria California with his sister, Susan. Through his childhood and adolescent years he enjoyed competitive swimming, little league baseball, Boy Scouts, motorcycle dirt bike riding, bowling, playing poker, and spending time outdoors. Susan's memories of her brother: My memories of David, of course, are mainly from our childhood since that is when we spent the majority of our time together. David and I were pretty close as brother and sister since we had lost our mother to a car accident when we were just 5 and 4 years old. I was the oldest and David was just 14 months behind. Our mom and dad had already divorced by then and our father didn't feel that he could properly care for 2 kids who were so young. I don't know if our dad knew when he turned us over to his parents that it was going to be a permanent situation or not but that is the way it turned out. We loved our grandparents as if they were our parents and yet David and I also kind of thought of ourselves as two kids against the world who had to take care of one another. We felt in some ways that we truly only had each other to turn to if things got rough. I don't know why that was but I do know that that we really watched out for one another and protected one another. Too many bad things had happened to people that we loved...we didn't want anything bad to happen to each other. In spite of all this David and I had a pretty happy childhood. I think because Grandma and Papa were more settled at this stage of their lives they were happier to just spend time with us than chase after so much of the stuff that young couples with young children do today. Grandma was always taking us places and showing us different cities in California even though many times Papa would have to stay home and work. At one point in our young lives both David and I were bowling on junior bowling leagues. David was a good enough bowler to go to the state championship in San Francisco so Grandma drove the 3 of us up there for an extended weekend trip over the summer for David to bowl. Of course, we went to Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Coit Tower, Lombard Street and just basically saw all the sights. That night we stood on a street corner waiting for a cable car to come by so we could ride it (yet again) back to our car which was probably only 4 blocks away. We waited and waited and waited for that stupid cable car until finally a taxi cab pulled up and the driver asked us what we were waiting for. (He had driven past this woman and these 2 young kids on this street corner in San Francisco at 11 o'clock at night several times...and could tell we were cold...remember it was San Francisco) When Grandma told him the kids wanted to ride the cable car again he informed her that it had quit running for the night about an hour ago. Needless to say, we walked the 4 blocks to the car! We laughed about that escapade for a while! There are so many memories of David growing up that it is hard to pick and choose which ones to highlight. One family story that Papa always enjoyed telling about David was about a road trip we were on with Grandma and Papa even before we came to live with them permanently. I guess David was about 2 and I must have been 3. In those days kids didn't have to be in car seats...heck, they hadn't even been invented yet! Anyway, David was standing up on the back seat and he kept squealing with delight. When Papa would turn around to see what was so funny David would just be standing there and I was sitting calmly next to him. This happened several times until finally Papa turned the rear view mirror so he could see what was happening in the back seat. Apparently, I was taking great pleasure in reaching up and grabbing David right between the legs! David thought this was hysterical and was squealing and dancing around before settling down again and waiting for the next go around! I bet he still had on one of those big old cloth diapers, otherwise he probably wouldn't have thought it was so funny huh?! When David was young on up until he was about 11 or 12 years old he was a sleepwalker. Not every night but occasionally he would get up and do some really odd things. Once when he was about 8 he got up, walked through the living room, into the kitchen, opened the fridge and proceeded to pee in the fridge. His eyes were open, we were asking him what he was doing...no answer...the light came on in the fridge when the door opened but all to no avail. He thought he was in bathroom and had lifted the seat of the toilet. I guess when he closed the door he was putting the lid back down like a good boy! When he was 11 or 12 he got up one night and left the house with nothing but his whitie tighties on and went door to door in our cul de sac trying to find the house that he was suppose to babysit at...at least that is what he told me later he was dreaming at the time. He made it completely around the cul de sac trying each door individually until he got back to our next door neighbor's. Bob heard someone giggling the door handle and got his gun and went to investigate. There he found David in nothing but his underware on the doorstep at about 3 in the morning! When Bob asked David what he was doing it woke David up and about scared him half to death! He had no idea why he was outside and no idea why the neighbor had a gun either! It took me about a week of badgering him to get him to tell me what had really happened that night. That was the last sleepwalking episode that I knew about. Later, when David was probably 14 or 15 he was the only one home one evening on a Friday night. I think Grandma and Papa had gone to play cards with friends and I was out for the evening too. When I got home I found David asleep in the living room on the hide-a-bed that he had opened to relax on while watching T.V. At that time we had 4 white toy poodles and all of them were up on the bed with him. I woke David up and told him that he should go to bed and to fold up the couch before he went to bed so he wouldn't get in trouble for leaving it open when Grandma and Papa got home. He did so and went to bed and I went to bed also. Grandma and Papa arrived home at about 1 a.m. I think and came in and woke me up and asked me if I had let the dogs out to go potty that night. I told them that "no I hadn't". Then they woke David up and asked him the same question. Now later we found out that David really hadn't let the dogs out that night but he thought that one of the dogs must have gone potty in the house. David thought he had been awakened because he was in trouble for perhaps not letting them out so he lied about it and said that he had when in fact he hadn't...Are you following me here? Well, our grandparents had not awakened us because of the dogs going potty in the house but because one of the 4 dogs was missing! They figured that when we had let them out to go to the bathroom we hadn't been careful and made sure that all 4 of them came back in. Now David was back-peddling and trying to tell them that he really hadn't let the dogs out after all. Regardless, one of the dogs was missing at 2 a.m. and we spent about the next 2 hours out looking for her.We searched our entire neighborhood looking for this little 5 pound white dog but never did find her. We finally came back home and fell into bed and cried ourselves to sleep with the exception of Grandma. She was so upset she couldn't sleep. She was standing in the kitchen and all of a sudden she started hollering "I can hear her...I can hear her whimpering". David came flying out of his bedroom into the living room and began tossing those pillows off that couch and threw open that hide-a-bed and there folded up in the white linens on the mattress was our little dog! He was the hero that night after all! When we were growing up there wasn't much I couldn't talk David into doing. One year at Halloween I convinced him to wear a mini skirted dress with white sandal high heels, a black page boy style wig, full make-up, and one of our grandmother's DD bras stuffed full of toilet paper. He must have been about 14 years old. I then took him to a Halloween party I had been invited to and introduced him as my cousin who had just come into town and didn't have time to get a costume. One of the guys there tried to "pick him up" all night! It was hysterical. David played it to the hilt and it wasn't until the end of the evening that we revealed who he really was. I do have to say that he had much nicer legs than I ever did! I wish I could put the photo I took of him that evening on this web site. He really did make quite an attractive teen girl. David, I know that I am going to miss you. But I also know that in the blink of an eye we will be re-united. It's really odd to think that the family that created all those memories when we were growing up is now all gone on with the exception of me. Now you've been welcomed home by the mom you never really even knew, our dad, who was more like a long lost uncle (maybe now you'll get to know and understand him), our grandparents who we have missed so much in the last 5 years and your baby daughter, Kelley, that I imagine you are holding in your arms even as I type this. I can just see those poodles dancing around your feet along with Vanna and Fritz the cat and all the other animals that have been a special part of your life. Aunts, uncles, other grandparents and relatives you never even really knew are all part of your circle now and you are surrounded by the kind of love that we all yearn for, especially you David. I'm glad you're free of the suffering, and struggle that this life was for you and that finally you can be filled with joy. I love you very much and I'll see you soon. Your sister, Susan Nicks memories: my father was the best dad i could have ever asked for...as well as my best friend. Megan's memories: Daddy, I love you. I know the last few years have been really hard and I want you to know that through it all I never stopped loving you. It meant the world to me when you came to my college graduation sober. And you got to see my little boy Aden even if only when he was little. You were a good father who was always there for the really important things. I remember one fishing trip, it was you, me, and Mark and we were on the little blue boat which always leaked. I hooked a king salmon with my little kid fishing poll. We fought that fish for 3 hours before it got away. He must had been 5 feet long... Even though no one else believed us I will always know the truth. I remember when you would come home from work you must have been exhausted after pipe fitting all day in the rain but you always let all four of us kids ride you into the house. We would all fight to carry your lunch pale. And then later we would all play in the living room with vanna "the killer dog". When I was in high school I used to stay home on Friday nights just to play spades with you, mom, and Brandon. Me and you were always on a team and we always kicked everyones butts. When I went to college I remember Dad's weekend when you came over to go to the COUG game with me, I wasn't able to get us tickets but we went and stood out side the game and watched from afar. That night we partied with all of my friends in the dorms, it meant alot that you were there to experience it all with me. You taught me sooooo much. When I would bring home my math homework you would try to help me. You may have been way over my head but you still tried to help. You also taught me how to mow the lawn and plant the garden. You fixed my first car even when it caught on fire after I honked the horn. You always wanted something better for me "Do as I say not as I do". You always told me how much you wanted to go to college, and wanted me to go. You know what I went to college for you. It means alot that you got to meet Eric and approved him to marry me. We will be getting married as you know, I will really miss you. I moved the wedding up a ways so that you would be able to walk me down the aisle, I even picked out the song that we were going to dance to "My little Girl". In my heart I know that you will be there. You made it to every other big event in my life, and you are my dad. I wanted you to give me away. I hope you know that I will always remember you as my big strong dad who I could punch as hard as I wanted (but I could never hurt). The one who "never gets sick". In my eyes you will always be made of steel. I love you, Megan From Peggy Punkin, This is the day of your memorial and I know it is time to say farewell. Being married to you was an experience I would not trade for anything. Although the lows were very low, we were blessed with four wonderfully beautiful children who brought us a lot of joy. I know how very proud you were of them. I loved you the best I could and forgave you to keep our family together. It hurts to let you go, but I find comfort in knowing you are out of pain. I will cherish the good times we shared, especially the family camping trips. I will continue to love and guide the kids and help them deal with the pain of losing you. They have bright futures and I pray that the tragedy of your death will cause them to stay on a healthy path in life as a way of honoring you. Thank you for the love we shared, Always Peggy Lindsay (Zee's) Memories - I've always said that the love between a father and his daughter is the most amazing love in the world, it's unconditional, forgiving, and like no other. Our love was no exception, you have been my world, my entire life. I love you more today than I did yesterday, and will love you more and more each day. I know that in the flesh you won't be there to walk me down the aisle and to help me raise my children, but you will always be by my side holding my hand. I'm thankful that I have been by your side everyday for the last 3 months helping you, caring for you, and getting my chance to show you how much you really mean to me. Daddy, my heart hurts really bad and I miss you so much already. I can hardly handle it, but I'm strong, like you. You're free daddy, no more pain, and God will set me free from the pain I feel today. I will always remember the stories that you would tell like the time when I was a little girl and we went to the beach. We came up to a big hill and I looked up with my big brown eyes and said "Daddy be beary beary careful." Or the time I was really sick in the hospital when I was four and you were working out of town, you drove faster than you ever had before to be by my side. I was the coolest kid on the block when I got home cause my daddy bought me a barbie car!!! God I loved that thing, drove it into the ground. I remember waking up at five in the morning and we would put on our special fishing hats and off we would go. You would always help us learn how to fish even though we tangled the line every time! You were patient, meant to be a father. I cried like a baby on my high school graduation cause you couldn't be there, then you called from Sun Down, you had only been there a week and weren't allowed to use the phone but you snuck a phone call cause you knew I needed you. Dad it won't be easy with out you, but I know you will be with me, watching over me, helping me make the right decisions for the rest of my life. I will make sure to tell the stories that you have told to me to keep you alive. You will be in my heart forever. I love you. Patty's Memories-Being daddy's little girl has always been a good roll for me. I remember getting up every morning at 4:30 just to sit and watch my dad shave and wait for him to kiss me goodbye. Then I would wait for him to come home and run outside to help him get stuff out of the car. I always loved when my dad would stand in the kitchen after work and he would flex his huge muscles and I would hang off his arms. He called me Pitter Pat the River rat and if anyone else called me that I probably would have hated it but from him it was ok with me.