Help Honor David Tracey's Legacy

Hello, some of you may not know our dad's story but I'll be happy to tell you a little overview!

David Tracey was born in Frederick, Maryland in December of 1961. He got married in 1983 to our mother, had me in 1984 and baby sister in 1992. They got divorced shortly thereafter but Dad was a lovable kind of man. His big blue eyes and smile could light up any room.

He had fell in love with music at an early age and continued to pursue his love for music as he was a drummer, guitarist and singer. He played with the band Close Call at Rabbits Foot and various other artist collaborations over the years. He would attend karaoke with his friends on a regular basis and would still sing his heart out up until he got sick.. Although his passion was music, he became a locksmith after trade schooling. He perfected his knack over the years working for two other locksmith companies before deciding to branch out on his own, creating Dave's Lock and Key. He serviced various counties in Maryland and the NOVA region providing the best customer service experience for those in their time of need while also giving back to the community. He had a generous huge heart and made monetary donations as much as he could whenever he could. The veterans and St Jude's hospital were near and dear to him.

In December 2024, he began not feeling well after having many "sinus infections" continuously. On January 2nd 2025, we finally gave him no choice as his adult children, to go to the Emergency room to get checked out at Frederick Health Hospital. We spent many hours that night to be given the diagnosis that every person dreads to hear. The big "C".

Dad was diagnosed that day with Stage 3 Non-Hodgkins lymphoma. We though, okay, this is treatable and beatable with a 70% survival rating as him and I were googling up a storm trying to find any and all information on it while we sat there in the hospital room that night. He was held in the hospital due to his condition for many more days and weeks. His first chemo treatment was done in the hospital. He was discharged at the end of January and right before his chemo treatments in February, he got admitted again. He stayed for a few weeks to get back to hydrated status and colitis under control. He stayed out of the hospital for the majority of March and was able to get his chemo treatments but on April 5th right before chemo #4, he was admitted again. Dehydration, colitis and then C-Diff plagued him this go around but as we had seen before, we thought he would get treated and then be released to go home. His puppies had been anxiously awaiting him to come home after each admittance but this time it was different. (Special thank you to Wendy, Mike, and Beth for helping to care for the puppies during his hospital stays.) On April 19th, many of his friends showed up to the hospital for a prayer circle, sharing stories and showing their love and support for their friend and our dad. It was absolutely beautiful to see how loved he was. I truly believe that with that uplifting support from his friends, that is how we managed to have his "rally day" on Easter.

On April 21st, they had made the call to put him on Hospice. Yesterday, April 27th 2025 at 10:34am, our Dad took his last breath. He was released into the heavens to be free from the pain and burden of the cancer that riddled him. Although, we never wanted his story to end this way, he passed peacefully. Our Dad was loved by many ❤

Dad had advised us over the years we had nothing to worry about and that everything was taken care of when it came to end of life expenses. When I called around with the information he had given and I found myself, I found that he had a plot at Mt. Olivet cemetery but no other expenses had been paid for ahead of time. He did not have any life insurance policy since he worked for himself. Now, my sister and I are working to set up the funeral arrangements for him, as we are not prepared at all to bury our Dad. We are attempting to reach out to the community for a little extra help with the costs.

Anything at this point in time is greatly appreciated. Please share your stories you have as well. We would love to hear them!

Thank you for your time, love and support ❤

Jess and Brittany