Mr. John David Preston's Obituary
John “David” Preston
January 13, 1955 – January 22, 2021
A Celebration of Life for Mr. David Preston of Plano, Texas will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 27, 2021 at Custer Road United Methodist Church in Plano with Reverend Phil Stobaugh officiating. Face masks and social distancing are mandatory. Live streaming can be viewed at crumc.org/livestream.
David Preston was born on January 13, 1955 in Biloxi, Mississippi to John Thurwood “Jake” Preston and Minnie Lee Rayburn. They were a military family and moved around until David was in 8th grade when they returned to Big Level outside of Wiggins, MS, where he attended Stone High School. In his senior year, David was voted Most Likely to Succeed, Cutest, Most Courteous, Most Intellectual and was Student Body President. During these years David loved running track, hunting and fishing!
After attending Perkinston Jr. College for two years, David finished his education at University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg where he met Peggy Lacy Punessen. Upon graduation with a B.S. in Building Construction Technology, he and Peggy married on June 19, 1977 in Hattiesburg MS and moved to Dallas, Texas. Within two weeks, David accepted a job offer with J. W. Bateson General Contractor. His career with this company spanned 35 years with the first 17 working on the Operation side of the company. David held the positions of Estimator, Project Engineer, Assistant Project Manager, Project Manager and Senior Project Manager and during this time the family moved four times returning in 1988 to the Dallas area. In 1991 as Senior Project Manager, David built building D at Medical City of Dallas and all three of his grandchildren were later born in this building. David started helping Hearts and Hammers, an organization in Dallas that assists in repairing homes, as a board member and team leader. In 1994 David moved from the Operations side to the Human Resources Department. This career change allowed David to put his family first and to remain in Plano. David was promoted to Director of Administration in the Corporate Office and during this time he served on the Development & Advisory Board of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Texas and was an active member of the Associated General Contractors of America. In Jan. 1996 David was promoted to Vice President of People and Training and held this position until his retirement in 2011. David loved recruiting at Texas A&M, Texas Tech., Purdue and other universities and supporting all the employees as the company grew and in 2007 the company became Balfour Beatty Construction. David was so honored to receive the award from the Construction Science Department at Texas A&M University for Constructor Hall of Fame in 2009. David was an active member of Custer Road United Methodist Church for 32 years and his faith in the Lord was always evident. David was involved in Sunday School classes, bible studies, was a youth counselor, member of the board of Trustees, and assisted with many church missions including Bedstart and Love Where you Live. David coached Chris in little league baseball, while cheering at soccer games for both Chris and Katrina. David shared his love of hunting and fishing with Chris and his love of running with Katrina. David welcomed Wilson to the family and loved becoming a grandfather; he was a very proud Poppa always ready with hugs and snuggles! David was an avid runner and ran the Dallas White Rock Marathon twice, the Houston Marathon, the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon. David was known for always having a smile on his face, for his kindness and dependability.
David Preston is survived by his wife Peggy Preston of Plano, TX, one daughter, Katrina Pryor (Wilson) and grandchildren, Raleigh, Graham, and Bradley of Dallas, TX, one son, Chris Preston of Allen, TX, one sister, Debbie Nida (Bill) of Baton Rouge, LA, one brother, Kevin Preston of Wiggins, MS, three nephews, John Frye (Tonya), Steve Frye (Lori) Eric Frye (Staci), two nieces, Molly Wilmington (David) and Tracy Cooper (Erik) and many other dear relatives and friends.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the mission Bedstart at Custer Road United Methodist Church, 6601 Custer Road, Plano, TX 75023 or online at CRUMC.org or the Alzheimer’s Association.
Cremation will take place at a later date and David will rest in the Arbors of Restland Memorial Park.
What’s your fondest memory of John?
What’s a lesson you learned from John?
Share a story where John's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with John you’ll never forget.
How did John make you smile?