David Isaac Spangler was born on November 12, 1928 in Clarksville, Red River Co., Texas to Dave Franklin Spangler and Ora Elizabeth Gamble. He was the oldest of three children born to this marriage. David was also a twin, his twin sister being Ora Irene Spangler. An interesting tidbit is that this was not the first twin birth by this marriage. On June 14, 1926 there is a record of twins being born to Ora Gamble and D. T. Spangler in Red River County, one female and one male. I'm not sure what happened to them but I am trying to figure it out. All I know is they were either still-born or died before 1930. I never heard my father talk about anyone other than his two sisters and three half-sisters.
I don't know a lot about my father's early childhood. I regret I never took the time to sit down with him and ask him about his early life. I do know that I have heard stories about how he loved the rodeo. From what I can gather, he was pretty popular around Detroit, Texas with the rodeo. I've heard stories that he rode the wild broncos and was pretty good. Some folks in Detroit referred to him as "Snake-Eyes" although I've never found out why. I have also heard tales of how he loved to play rodeo when he was younger. He had a makeshift pen and would come home from school and practice roping the calves.
On his DD-214, it shows that his last place of employment before joining the Army was George Reynolds Grocery & Hardware in Detroit, Texas. It shows the years of employment from 1942 to 1951. That would mean he was working there at the age of 14. (Another interesting tidbit is that his DD-214 shows his permanent residence as 704 E. Booth in Paris, Texas. That is interesting because I now reside at 1954 E. Booth in Paris, Texas. It is strange how you always end up coming home, even when you don't realize it!)
David was inducted into the U. S. Army on Jan. 23, 1951 and was released on January 26, 1953. His MOS was Truck Driver, Light. I don't know how long he was there but I do know that he spent a lot of his military time in Okinawa. One of his best friends was George "Timber" Forbes. Upon his release in 1953 he traveled with George to meet his family. It was there that he met Patricia Ann Forbes. It was love at first sight. He met her at the end of January and married her at the end of May. A four month courtship that resulted in a marriage that lasted until his death on April 13, 2000.
Dad had plenty of occupations through his lifetime. Besides working for 9 years at the grocery store, he also worked for a while as a butcher at the City Market in Paris. He spent 20 years working construction for the same company. When he left that job he worked for several years as a forklift driver in Dallas before moving to Paris and working construction with his nephew, Jerry Spangler. An unfortunate accident caused him to leave that job and to "retire". In his "retirement" my father took up a hobby that he truly loved. He began to buy and sell. He did this for at least 10 years before his death. He made many friends and helped many people during this time. I still meet people today who talk about how much they miss him and how much they admired him! David Isaac Spangler had a full and fulfilling life. It was with great sadness that we watched as cancer took the father we had loved for so long. He fought a good fight and even though his earthly temple is no more, his spirit still lives strong within all of his children!
Picture Book
Memorial Web Site
Designed by Kim (Spangler) Wise
