Obituary of David W. Fuller

On Monday May 14th, 2018 David W. Fuller Sr. had his last wish fulfilled when he passed away quietly at his home of 44 years following a short illness.

David was born on June 25, 1945 in Oneonta, NY to Stanley V. Fuller and Dora Kathmann Fuller.

Sadly, when David was only 10 days old his father was tragically killed on their family farm in Meredith. Having had not had a father in his life, this drove David's desire to be actively involved in his children's lives. 

Due to family financial hardships in his early life, David lived with and worked with many different families and therefore, attended many different school districts never having graduated. This was always one of David's regrets, until later in life when he proudly earned his GED with the assistance of his family and friends. 

At the young age of 18 years, David chose to leave school and join the US Navy with his brother Stanley. Serving two tours of duty in Vietnam aboard the USS BOXER (LPH4).  David always spoke fondly of his experiences in the Navy   and boasted of traveling around the world two times during the course of his service as well as assisting in transporting and carrying more than two hundred Army airplanes and helicopters into Vietnam as part of the the 1st Cavalry Division (Air Mobile) Deployment and later carried Marine Corps aircraft to Vietnam. In 1966 David's ship also assisted in the recovery of one of the  NASA spacecraft capsules from the Ocean. 

On November 4th, 1967 shortly after his honorable discharge from the Navy, David married Beverly Marble in Oneonta, NY.  In November 2017, they recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. 

David was employed by New York State for 23 years working his way from an entry level maintenance position to a Maintenance Supervisor. David had an outstanding work ethic and frequently was juggling various side jobs to supplement his income to better support his family.

In 1974 David and Beverly built a home in the Town of Meredith where they raised their family.

In 2005 after his retirement from NYS, David and Beverly embarked upon a life-long dream, touring by camper the lower 48 states and Alaska where they visited many national parks and historic sites enjoying their beauty as well as making a number of friends along the way.

For several years, David and Beverly "wintered" in the Ocala/Belview, Florida area where they met some wonderful people whom they enjoyed playing dominoes and cards with. In addition, they also enjoyed visiting with Delaware/Otsego County friends and family.       

David was a fierce competitor in all aspects of life, and his competitive nature was particularly seen through and in his love of sports.  An avid Boston Celtics lover, David admired Larry Bird as well as the Boston Celtics team of that era. David especially loved his contact sports and for many years enjoyed his noon time basketball/walleyball work out with his SUNY friends where he actively worked out his stress while on the court.  Although, its been a number of years since David played noontime basketball, the friendships that were formed on the court were lifelong.  David was also very proud of his children's and grandchildren's participation in school and athletic activities and could often and quite distinctly be heard yelling words of encouragement to them and their teammates at various events.

In addition, for several years, David was a member of the Delhi Fire Department as an ambulance driver. He also enjoyed boating and fishing with his family and friends, ATVing and in his down time he enjoyed "talking" about politics and the stock market, visiting with his many wonderful family members and friends as well as reading and completing cross word puzzles.

David is survived by his wife of 50 years Beverly, his children Eric (Kelly) Fuller, Kim Fuller  (Donald) Smith, David (Carrie) Fuller and Zacharias (Karrin) Fuller, his grandchildren Amanda, Cody, Taylor, Jared, Gabriel, Matthew, Danell, Kiara, Julian and Stella, his three great grandchildren Derek, Dakota and Natalia; his siblings Grace (Charles) Dietzman, Stanley(Joanne) Fuller and Patricia (John) Svegl;  several dear nieces, nephews and cousins as well as his  sisters and brother in-laws Violet Wells, Susan (Stanley) Holmes and Brian Marble. 

David was predeceased by his parents Stanley and Dora, his beloved Aunt Erna and Uncle Mark Richtsfeld, his brother Wayne Benjamin, his niece Cara Fuller, his father and Mother in-law Raymond and Angelita Marble and his brothers-in-law John and Richard Marble.

Calling hours will be held from 3-5PM on Monday, May 21, 2018 at The Delhi Fire Department, Delview Terrace Ext., Delhi, followed by a celebration of life at 5PM with full military honors. Burial will be private at the East Meredith Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Heart of the Catskills Humane Society P.O. Box 88 Delhi, NY 13753.