In loving memory of David Paul Dentler "Boney"
Donation protected
David’s passing has been extremely hard to process. He was the youngest sibling of 9 and we never wanted to believe that he may be the first to return home. I am writing this as a way to inform those that have been disconnected from my baby brother and to comfort those that have been blessed to be close. He had a heart of gold. The David that we all knew was a very loving and caring young man and he touched a lot of souls from all walks of life. Although he was in a great place when he passed, his journey was not without pain and hardship.
David was born and raised in Portland Oregon on the 5th day of January, 1996. He was born a couple minutes after his twin Tia, marking the last child that my mother would birth. Growing up he was quite shy, but that was quite common among us kids. He was a very happy young guy and enjoyed playing outside. catching and collecting bugs was one of his favorite activities. Due to our older brother Solomon being a bit of an artist, David was able to discover his love for art at a young age. He was very talented and we all enjoyed the work he did. As he grew into his teen years our neighborhood being a high crime area had its own influence on our brother as it did for all of us kids in different ways.
David had a span of tough years in which struggled to shake the trouble. My family became concerned about his actions and the environments that he found himself in. He had his share of run ins with police. He also experienced many close calls that could have taken him away from us a lot earlier. We were extremely grateful that he was able to overcome those events. Although, this may have you feeling a bit down, this is not how David ended his time here with us.
Those of you that are aware of mine and my brother’s relationship know that I had been one of his toughest critics all the while. This was never confused for anything other than love. We all knew the untapped potential that David possessed. All we wanted for him is success so that he may be a great father for his son Aden. When Aden was first born, David was struggling with a lot of issues. He was not the stand up father that I know he wanted to be inside. Myself and my family were working hard to wake him up from the sunken place he was in. For more than 10 years I tried to pull David out of Portland and away from the negativity surrounding him. I failed every time. David was not ready to change. We understood this. A man must make his own decisions and live with the consequences thereafter.
However, in the past year, many blessings occurred that lead to an extreme change in direction for David. David finally accepted my offer to come and live with me for a while. In those months I was able to have so many deep conversations with him. I am so grateful for those memories because through those conversations David showed that he really wanted to change. While he was living with me he started to see his son again. I was extremely proud of him. David ended up returning to Portland for what was supposed to be a weekend to visit.
Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. I was admittedly unhappy about his choice to stay longer than we planned. However, I respected his choice as a man. Through this time I chose to allow him to make his own decisions and return when he felt it was time in his heart. I received a random call from David on April 4th to Celina’s phone. During the conversation he was asking if it was ok to come back. I just laughed and told him that he was always welcome and that he knew that already. He stated that he didn’t want to be there anymore. He emphasized for the first time that he wanted to get away and he just wanted to be there for his son. It was the first time he ever said this on his own. He really meant it. I could hear it in his voice. I could feel the change in him and it made me so happy and proud. I told him “You can come today if you want.” We ended the call and I told him that I love him and I’ll talk to him later.
David passed on May 6th at 11:45 PM. He didn’t make it to my home, but he did make it home. Before leaving he was able to talk to our mom and his twin sister. We were all able to talk to him in the months leading up to his passing. We feel so blessed to have the time with him. Everyone that has talked to us has said the same thing. David had changed so much. Everyone was so happy for him and to see the change that occurred in such a short period of time. My family would like to say thank you for the outpouring of love. It has been so beautiful to interact with all of those he has touched so deeply. David was so loved.
We will miss you little buddy, baby brother, Day Day, Boney, and all the other nicknames he had.
God bless you and until we meet again, we love you.
-Older brother John on behalf of our family
During this time there has been a so much support for the family. We would like to open this platform in order to let everyone have the opportunity to contribute and support. The funds that are collected from this go-fund me will be used for a culmination of costs. This is a Go-Fund me page to accrue funds for the any extra costs that are not already covered by the family. The remainder of the donations that are received will be entirely dedicated to an account for his son Aden.
We have until Thursday May 13th to pay for the remainder of the costs associated with David's burial.
God bless you all.
David was born and raised in Portland Oregon on the 5th day of January, 1996. He was born a couple minutes after his twin Tia, marking the last child that my mother would birth. Growing up he was quite shy, but that was quite common among us kids. He was a very happy young guy and enjoyed playing outside. catching and collecting bugs was one of his favorite activities. Due to our older brother Solomon being a bit of an artist, David was able to discover his love for art at a young age. He was very talented and we all enjoyed the work he did. As he grew into his teen years our neighborhood being a high crime area had its own influence on our brother as it did for all of us kids in different ways.
David had a span of tough years in which struggled to shake the trouble. My family became concerned about his actions and the environments that he found himself in. He had his share of run ins with police. He also experienced many close calls that could have taken him away from us a lot earlier. We were extremely grateful that he was able to overcome those events. Although, this may have you feeling a bit down, this is not how David ended his time here with us.
Those of you that are aware of mine and my brother’s relationship know that I had been one of his toughest critics all the while. This was never confused for anything other than love. We all knew the untapped potential that David possessed. All we wanted for him is success so that he may be a great father for his son Aden. When Aden was first born, David was struggling with a lot of issues. He was not the stand up father that I know he wanted to be inside. Myself and my family were working hard to wake him up from the sunken place he was in. For more than 10 years I tried to pull David out of Portland and away from the negativity surrounding him. I failed every time. David was not ready to change. We understood this. A man must make his own decisions and live with the consequences thereafter.
However, in the past year, many blessings occurred that lead to an extreme change in direction for David. David finally accepted my offer to come and live with me for a while. In those months I was able to have so many deep conversations with him. I am so grateful for those memories because through those conversations David showed that he really wanted to change. While he was living with me he started to see his son again. I was extremely proud of him. David ended up returning to Portland for what was supposed to be a weekend to visit.
Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. I was admittedly unhappy about his choice to stay longer than we planned. However, I respected his choice as a man. Through this time I chose to allow him to make his own decisions and return when he felt it was time in his heart. I received a random call from David on April 4th to Celina’s phone. During the conversation he was asking if it was ok to come back. I just laughed and told him that he was always welcome and that he knew that already. He stated that he didn’t want to be there anymore. He emphasized for the first time that he wanted to get away and he just wanted to be there for his son. It was the first time he ever said this on his own. He really meant it. I could hear it in his voice. I could feel the change in him and it made me so happy and proud. I told him “You can come today if you want.” We ended the call and I told him that I love him and I’ll talk to him later.
David passed on May 6th at 11:45 PM. He didn’t make it to my home, but he did make it home. Before leaving he was able to talk to our mom and his twin sister. We were all able to talk to him in the months leading up to his passing. We feel so blessed to have the time with him. Everyone that has talked to us has said the same thing. David had changed so much. Everyone was so happy for him and to see the change that occurred in such a short period of time. My family would like to say thank you for the outpouring of love. It has been so beautiful to interact with all of those he has touched so deeply. David was so loved.
We will miss you little buddy, baby brother, Day Day, Boney, and all the other nicknames he had.
God bless you and until we meet again, we love you.
-Older brother John on behalf of our family
During this time there has been a so much support for the family. We would like to open this platform in order to let everyone have the opportunity to contribute and support. The funds that are collected from this go-fund me will be used for a culmination of costs. This is a Go-Fund me page to accrue funds for the any extra costs that are not already covered by the family. The remainder of the donations that are received will be entirely dedicated to an account for his son Aden.
We have until Thursday May 13th to pay for the remainder of the costs associated with David's burial.
God bless you all.
Organizer and beneficiary
John Enyart
Organizer
Tacoma, WA
Christina Johnson
Beneficiary