David Alan Reese's Obituary
REESE, DAVID ALAN passed away in his home on March 31, 2012, of liver cancer. A native Dallasite, he completed his school years at Lake Highlands Elementary, Jr. High and High Schools, then attended and graduated from University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in American History though Literature was always his first love and he was a voracious reader until his death. David was the loving son to Lucretia Greensage-Reese and his father, who preceded him in death, Grady Watson Reese. He met and later married Lisa Carbone-Reese on March 28, 1997. He had no children but was surrounded by four canine children whom he loved dearly: Sarge, Haley, Nikki and Pixie. He was a lover of animals and a rescuer of many. For this reason it was David’s request that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to: East Lake Pet Orphanage at www.helppets.net or 10101 E.Northwest Hwy, Dallas, TX 75238. Cards will be provided at the reception for those who are interested in donating. It’s where he adopted his faithful canine companions many years ago and who have helped both his real and his canine family during his long illness. David valued family and friends above all else and leaves behind a host of family who will miss him dearly: Aunts and Uncles: Jackie and Teddie Greensage, Barbara Falkowski; First Cousins: Toby and Danette Greensage, Brenda and Rick Falkowski, Crystal and Mark Gilbert as well as many cousins that he was proud to welcome into the family. He found it exciting to have young ones in the family again which was so typical. It fueled the child within him. As an only child, he was an unashamedly precocious child who frequently intimidated the adults with his sharp intellect and quick wit. Even as a boy, he had an encyclopedic knowledge of movies, music, books, and television that he continued to cultivate throughout his lifetime. He was a pop culture savant with a deep appreciation of satire and twisted humor. His boisterous laugh was infectious and filled the room. He was never afraid to share his opinion and frequently took the contrarian position just for the sake of a fun argument. His guilty pleasure was reality TV and never missed a season of Big Brother or Survivor and spent many hours with his friends from HamsterTime using that rapier wit to snark and root for players, recap into the night and create player nicknames. Dave began playing soccer when the first wave of youth soccer started in North Texas and was selected to several Lake Highlands Soccer Association All Star teams. He was one of the first group of “select” soccer players in North Texas, playing with the newly formed Solar Soccer Club in the late 1970s. Although he was large as a child, he was quick and agile. These attributes along with his keen intellect for the game allowed him to play the unlikely position of center midfield where his ability to collect and distribute the ball confounded opponents. He was a student of the game and a team leader. His ability to read the game usually surpassed that of his coaches. This enabled him to travel throughout the US as well as Mexico playing a game he dearly loved with friends he grew up with and admired for many years to come. He even played in the Dallas Cup in its inaugural year. Though he no longer played past college, he was an FC Dallas fan and enjoyed going to games with his closest friend. “Dallas ‘Till I Die!”, as the team motto goes. He started his career in Technical Support at OnRamp, Inc. and quickly found his niche in the fast pace world of a start up company during the beginnings of the internet craze. He was the pragmatic one in support, continually arguing whether commonly accepted “fixes” were actually permanent fixes at all. While perhaps not totally altruistic, he was also a proud elitist when it came to customer support and when support was needed he wanted each customer fixed correctly, in a timely manner and off the phones. After his time on the front lines taking calls he became the ragtag leader in the Support Group and routinely converted all into willing and satiated team members by means of Sal’s Pizza. He managed with a stern hand and no one wanted to see the “bad side” of Dave at work and rarely had to; but everyone knew if you needed help or a customer was just impossible he’d be right behind you to help resolve the issue to the very end. He always walked a line of advocacy and realism for both the customer and the company. He was truly a team player. Though he rose quickly within the company he still enjoyed taking the odd call when he had time. He truly loved the people he worked with from Techs, to superiors but had a special place in his heart for the techs and, especially, the network engineers whom he respected greatly, learned much from and considered dear friends. He had wanted so much to gather with everyone one last time but was, unfortunately, it was not to be. For those who worked with Dave, no one will ever forget the brilliant summary he delivered at the management retreat when asked for the headline for how they were doing. His response? “Rome burns” – and he was right. Finally, David was a kind and generous soul. He loved deeply, spoke loudly and with conviction. He was extremely devoted to family and friends though it was sometimes difficult for him to show it. He had a sharp and wonderful wit, was caring, loving, talented and had a mind that was so inquisitive and so intelligent and the gift of fairness and objectivity to accompany it. He was so loved family and friends and will forever be missed. There will be a luncheon reception at David’s childhood home at 9806 Crestwick, Dallas, TX 75238 following his Memorial. We invite you to come celebrate David’s life. Feel free to bring pictures, stories or memorabilia. All are welcome! Please come celebrate David’s life with us.
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