David passed away on the evening of Nov. 17, 2020 with his loving wife and son by his side. He was born Oct. 6, 1938 in Racine, WI. He married his soulmate Sandy on Oct. 3, 1959. Dave loved food and had a great passion for gourmet cooking and baking. You could always find him in the kitchen cooking a fabulous meal or in the den reading cookbooks. This passion led to a career as a baker at several award-winning bakeries. Later, due to a severe allergy to flour dust, he was forced to abandon the work he loved. Starting over from scratch he built a successful appliance repair business. He eventually sold Dave’s Appliance and became a successful sales rep for Julien Shade where he excelled at sales for commercial window coverings throughout Wisconsin. He retired in 2013.

Along with a successful career, Dave loved to travel. He and Sandy were always traveling somewhere, but one trip in particular was to Italy with his entire family to celebrate his and Sandy’s 50th wedding anniversary was very special for them both. Dave was always remodeling one thing or another in the house to make the house beautiful for him and Sandy.

Dave was a lover of racing and in the 1950’s and raced sports cars at tracks like Blackhawk Farms and Road America. Those cars included his Aston Martin DB2, Jaguars, MG’s and Austin Healy which he was very proud of. Later in life he became involved with the international open wheel racing series C.A.R.T/ChampCar World Series mainly working in Technical Inspection which he enjoyed immensely.

Dave was blessed very late in life to have met his biological family and felt great joy to have had the opportunity to attend a family reunion where he met many special relatives.

Dave is survived by his loving wife Sandy, his sons Eric (Jennifer) and Michael (Rick), daughter-in-law Rose (Gray) Roth-Gajewski and his dog Faith.

He is preceded in death by his parents Edwin and Rose Kilman, brothers and sisters: Christine, Paul, Josephine, Jasper, Evelyn, Dorothy, Faye, Nell and Betty and his beloved dog Maggie.

Our family would like to extend the deepest gratitude and thanks to Rennes Health and St. Elizabeth Hospital for their care of Dave.

Dave will be laid to rest on Monday, Nov. 23, 2020 at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Appleton at 2:30. Friends are invited to join the family for a committal prayer and short time of sharing. Please wear a mask and practice social distancing if attending.

Honey, Thank you for a wonderful 61 years. You made our life together so special with our sons, travels, the beautiful, unexpected gifts and your thoughtfulness and love. I love you. Sandy

Dad, words cannot express the gratitude I have of being your son. I will miss our trips, remodeling projects, phone calls, delicious food and mostly your wisdom and sense of humor.

I love you.

Mike

 

You gave me my very eclectic taste in music, an appreciation of good food and spirits, my passion for cooking, and my love of racing. For these things I am eternally grateful. Our time together working at the races are my most cherished memories.  

Eric