Dave Gorgone

Last night I found out that my former café co-worker pal, Dave Gorgone, died on January 1st of this year. I hadn't seen him since probably 2006 or so, but we reconnected a bit on Instagram about four years ago. I know he had moved to the city and was still involved in the church but not much else. He hadn't posted anything to IG in a long time but I chalked it up to wanting to pull back from social media. I've kind of done that as well. I decided to Google him and see if maybe a job site profile popped up or something from his church. I wasn't prepared for it to be an obituary. In 2014 I posted the below blurb about Dave and I want to include it again with a couple pix I took of the big lug.

He was a total slob in the café and had a voice like a freakin' bullhorn, but man, oh man, was he a delight to work with. He loved Tom Waits, so we hit it off right from the get-go. My favourite memory of Dave was when I was sitting off to the side on my break and a mother and her little girl came up to the counter. Most straight, single men are crap with kids. Not Dave. "Hey there, Princess," he said and received a response of, "I'm five and I'm real strong." He chuckled, gave them their drinks and said, "Have a nice evening, ma'am, and I'll see ya later, muscles!" It was so cute and that little girl beamed back at Dave. She was so happy that he didn't think she was a wimpy kid.

Dave Gorgone was one of those rare Christians who accept everyone with open arms, regardless of religious beliefs, sexual preference, gender, age, race. He was kind and compassionate and could be a complete hoot. The world is that much worse off for his no longer being here.