
Please help lay our dad, a Vietnam vet, to rest.
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My name is Amy Davis and I'm having this fundraiser to help pay for my dad's funeral expenses. My dad (David Davis) was a disabled Vietnam combat veteran (helicopter crew chief) who was living in Florida for the past 11 years. He moved there after losing his left leg in a motorcycle accident because the pain was just too bad here in Ohio during the cold winters. He also broke his femur in the same leg right after getting his prosthesis and required several plates and screws.
Dad lived with his girlfriend of 10 years, MaryEllen Kirkwood. My step-mom, Cyndi, also lived in Florida until she passed away last September. She was usually the person who let us know whenever Dad was sick or hurt. We almost lost Dad back in 2018 to a massive heart attack, but thankfully God spared him that time.
He had another heart attack that caused him to get into a really bad car accident in April of this year. The accident re-injured his left leg, as well as breaking his hip and back. He ended up spending several weeks in the hospital and rehab before being able to return home. I didn't find out that Dad was even in an accident or the hospital until he recovered enough to call me a few days later.
My brothers and I have been trying to convince Dad and his girlfriend to move back to Ohio so that we could take care of them, especially since the accident. In the Summer, Dad said he and MaryEllen were going to go ahead and move up here later this year so we could take care of them. About a month or so later, he changed his mind and said his pregnant caregiver and her kids were going to move in and take care of them instead. She never moved in but Dad kept insisting that she was taking good care of them.
A few weeks ago, I found out that Dad's electricity was due to get disconnected, their cell phones were suspended and they were facing eviction. It was really odd because he and MaryEllen usually live very comfortably on their retirement. At this point, Dad said that his caregiver "misallocated" some of his money while he was in the hospital. Over the course of the next couple weeks, they were still trying to figure out how much money was missing and estimated that it was upwards of $50,000. I pleaded with Dad to press charges but he didn't want to because she was pregnant.
Fast forward to October 28 and my brothers and I were concerned because we hadn't heard from Dad or MaryEllen for a couple weeks and all three phones were disconnected (Dad's cell, MaryEllen's cell and the house phone). After making phone calls, we found out that Dad had been in the hospital since October 21 and had passed away the day before (October 27).
Nobody ever called any of us; not the hospital or his caregiver. My dad spent the last days of his life and passed away all alone (other than hospital staff). If we had known he was in the hospital, we could have tried talking to him or going down to see him. Something, anything...but we didn't know. MaryEllen was at the same hospital and she didn't even find out about Dad's passing until we did. The hospital insists they tried to call his next of kin but none of us were ever called.
Dad had life insurance through the VA, but my step-mom (Cyndi Foley Davis) was still listed as the beneficiary. She passed away last September. We (my brothers and I) had to submit death certificates for both Dad and Cyndi as well as our info so that the life insurance can help us pay for Dad's funeral. We were able to at least get Dad's body brought up here so that he can be buried at home near his family.
Since he was a combat veteran in Vietnam, he earned the right to be buried in a national cemetery, which will help tremendously with the funeral expenses. But even though we know that Dad's life insurance is enough to cover the services, Snyder Funeral Homes refuses to let us even set a date for our dad's funeral until every penny is paid. We do not have the cash to cover it and don't know where else to turn at this point.
My brother, Luke, flew to Florida to get some of Dad's clothes and pictures/things for the funeral and to get the police involved. While down there, he discovered just how bad the situation had been. Dad and MaryEllen's dogs (they used to breed Shih Tzus) had been severely neglected, and the house was utterly filthy. There was dog urine and feces everywhere, dirty laundry, trash, and all kinds of things. The floors and everything were just covered in filth. I can't begin to describe how nasty my dad's bed was and I can't believe he had to live like that, and I wish we had known sooner.
Luke couldn't even wash any of the laundry there because they had to sell their washer and dryer (as well as their new generator) to pay bills. There is no money in Dad's bank account and someone went into their home and stole everything they had of value while Dad and MaryEllen were in the hospital. His "caregiver" was still driving his truck and the police had to retrieve it.
The shock of everything and the grieving process have been harder than I can put into words. It's compounded by the fact that we can't have his funeral and he passed so close to the holidays and his birthday (he would have been 70 on November 6). We really want to lay our dad to rest so that we can then focus on getting his affairs in order, pressing charges, and trying to get justice for him. That's going to require a lot of traveling between Ohio and Florida, so we will also need help with that. I hate to ask for help, but we just have to. If you cannot donate, I pray that God lays it on your heart to share this for our dad, our hero.
Organizer
Amy Davis
Organizer
Mansfield, OH