Dave Havener, 62

On Aug. 12, 2017, Dave Havener passed away peacefully at home following a valiant 3-year battle against multiple myeloma.

Dave was born on Oct. 14, 1954, to Victor and Jackie (Weiss) Havener of Pasadena, California. The family relocated to San Diego, where he met and married his high school sweetheart, Lisa Wall, in 1974. Dave and Lisa settled in the beautiful Mountain Brook community of Kalispell, where they built their own home and raised their children.

Dave worked in the electrical trade, attaining master electrician status and operating his own contracting business, DH Electric, for many years. When their grown children settled in the Seattle area, Dave and Lisa began a new chapter in their lives in Port Orchard, Washington, where they rebuilt an older home together and specialized their business, Citywide Electric, on the installation and repair of standby generators, but a piece of their hearts remained in Montana.

An incredibly hard worker, Dave’s work was his play. He loved his electrical work, his colleagues and his customers, many of whom became friends. In his spare time, he was a HAM radio enthusiast and volunteer, and a gifted craftsman who loved to work with his hands. Dave as builder and Lisa as designer worked side by side over their 42 wonderful years of marriage. He surrounded us with the beauty he created and with the constant light of his reassuring presence.

He was as adept at mending broken hearts as he was at repairing things. With his strong and reliable arms, he guided his loved ones on the level and plumb path, leading by quiet example. He was a genuine and honest man of integrity, faithful and true, fair, kind, unassuming, a lover of animals and little ones, a champion of the weak, a friend to everyone, a man of goodwill, a man of mirthful sense of humor, quick to smile, a man of unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. He was the sturdy oak we could always lean on and trust in. The pain of our loss underlines the treasure that he was to us.

Dave was preceded in death by his mother Jackie, and is survived by his wife, Lisa Havener of Port Orchard; children, Greg (April) Havener of Monroe, Washington, Christine (Rich) Ellis of Port Orchard, and Brian Havener of Bothell, Washington; grandchildren, Cole, Corbin, Hannah and Owen Havener and Claire, Liam and Henry Ellis; his father, Victor (Elizabeth) Havener, of Cedar Springs, Michigan; and by siblings, Theresa Schumacher of Jacksonville, Oregon, Cynthia (Ray) Bedsaul of Clayton, North Carolina, and Michael (Joy) Havener of Alpine, California.

Dave didn’t want a funeral but rather that anyone who called him friend would do something kind for someone else in his memory. In lieu of flowers, written memories of him would be treasured.