David John English

David John English Bay City, Michigan The world is a poorer place and heaven has gained a kind and gentle soul with the passing of our son, David John English. Our family was blessed to have such a caring, intelligent, helpful, well-mannered and funny young boy in our lives. David handled himself with untiring humor, dignity and grace as he courageously battled a malignant brain tumor for the past 19 months. The fight is over now for our "Mega Man," and so too is the pain, suffering and misery he endured. David was born Feb. 5, 2002, in Tawas City, Michigan, the son of Kathleen M. (Killey) and Eric B. English. He and his family moved to Bangor Township in 2007, where David most recently attended fourth grade classes at Bangor West Elementary School and where he was an honor-roll student. He was a member of St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church. David enjoyed playing basketball and whiffle ball, building Legos and playing the drum kit in Band Hero. His favorite show was the cartoon "Phineas and Ferb," and he owned a fishing rod he named Lucky because he always caught something with it. He enjoyed hard rock music and was known for his hilarious dance moves. At an early age, David adopted a stuffed bumblebee he named Buzz as his sidekick. The two were popular as they made their rounds with doctors, nurses and therapists at Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor. His affection for honeybees was inspiration for a yellow-and-black ribbon and bracelet campaign benefitting the family and the creation of the Bee Strong Relay for Life team. David is survived by his parents; his sister, Holly; his grandparents, John and Carol Killey of Bay City; grandparents Alvin and Kathleen English of Trout Lake and Penny English of Spring Hill, Florida. He also is survived by his godmother, Karen (Killey) Barriger and her husband, Martin Barriger, of Bay City; godfather Perry Grove and his wife Susan (Killey) Grove of Aurora, Illinois.; as well as aunts and uncles Debra English, of Saint Clair, John P. Killey of Bay City and Joe and Krista (Fritzke) Killey of Sodus. David's cousins are Evan and Julia Grove and Maggie and Eddie Killey. The family would like to thank all those who kept David in their prayers and who contributed financially or otherwise to help make a tough time a little easier. Special thanks to Lynne Moore of Bangor Township Public Schools, Lauri Ozdych, the Just for Kids organization and to Dr. Patricia Robertson and the staff at U of M Mott Children's Hospital. Special thanks as well to Coy's Comics in Saginaw for creating the original comic book "David in Space" as a pick-me-up for our son. Cremation has taken place. A Memorial Liturgy will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday June 22, 2012 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 2956 E. North Union Road in Bay City. Rev. Fr. Robert J. Meissner will officiate. Friends may call at the Gephart Funeral Home, Inc., 201 W. Midland St., Bay City, on Thursday June 21st from 2:00 to 9:00 p.m. and also at the church on Friday from 9:00 a.m. until the time of service. The Vigil for the Deceased will take place at the funeral home on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Expressions of sympathy to the family to help create a David English scholarship award or to the Bee Strong Relay for Life Team. www.gephartfuneralhome.com