David Briggs
David was born in Denver and lived in
the Wheatridge/Golden/Lakewood area all his life. He lived in the high
rise on 6th ave and Sims for 30 years.
He graduated from Wheatridge High in 1968. He joined the army and was in Viet Nam from 69-71. He was an accounting specialist and while there he and a team of auditors were instrumental in stopping a scandal where officers were taking millions of dollars from the PX, he received a commendation for it. He didn't see a lot of battle because of his position as an accountant. His memory problems made it so he was lucky in the aspect of not remembering any of the battles he was in.
He came home from the army, married his first wife Connie and 9 months later they were in a car accident. She died and he was in a coma for 35 days. He had suffered severe brain trauma, broken pelvis, hip and many other serious injuries. They did not believe he was going to live but he was a fighter and did. He had to re teach himself to walk, write, eat and many other basics. He ended up with long term and short term memory loss. He would recognize someone but couldn't remember how or why. His family had to reintroduce themselves to him. Sometimes he couldn't remember he had lunch 30 min earlier. David always felt he should be a working member of society and attempted to work even with his memory issues, he worked at 19 different jobs trying to find one that would fit his abilities. He was not a quitter.
David has a half sister, Peggy and one named Kathy, he had a half brother, Jimmy who passed a long time ago. Peggy has been a wonderful support for David and I. She lives in Kentucky but has called or emailed often. It is because of Peggy that David and I met. For his birthday each year she would get him a subscription to POGO, an on line game site where you can chat with people. Late one night, in October 2007 after work I was playing a game called, "Tri-peaks Solitaire" and PLYRDVD2001 came in started a conversation with me "BRATNDIDI", we talked until 5:30am. He told me had memory issues but it was weird because the next day I had to re-introduce myself. It took about a week for him to remember who I was, but once he did he never forgot. We spent the next 4 months chatting on yahoo, POGO and on the phone. We would talk on the phone for hours. New Years Eve we talked for 5 hours on the phone and when it was midnight in Iowa we toasted and then an hour later in Denver. He was funny and sweet and made me laugh. In February I came out to meet him in person; I had only seen a picture of his face and when I opened the door to let him in there was this skinny little man and I thought "oh he is so not my type". I am glad I didn't let that 1st impression be what I judged him on though because over the next 6 weeks we were together almost 24 hours a day; I found out what a thoughtful, caring person he was. I also found my job at Rowan and that has been a great experience. David liked Rowan and did some volunteering here, he would also come and help me file. We know that he helped with one of the residents and she still remembers him.
David spent years collecting stamps and coins. He volunteered at nursing homes and did illiteracy teaching, he took care of his parents when then were dying and spent a lot of time at the "Hangout" which was a center for those with brain injuries. David had an affinity for animals, they all loved him. My cat, Maggie had always hated men but David spoiled her rotten and it got so she would greet him first when we came home and she didn't like it if I sat by him. My daughter, Brandi, was here to help with his passing and she brought her dog, Pee with her, David was so happy to have a dog after we had to get rid of Karma. A few nights before he died he was pretty sedated but woke up and asked for the dog. Pee got up on the bed and David petted him for a long time. One thing he did almost every day was go to Denny's or Village Inn, have coffee and write. He said his goal in life was to "empty every pen I find". His brain injury made his writings pretty abstract but if you tore the sentence apart you could find some very interesting thoughts in it.
David never let his brain injury get in the way of doing things. He did very well by himself. Many people, who first met David, never realized the memory issues. It was only after you got to know David that you realized that. He took trips on his own, dealing with airports and everything else. He made a lot of notes and I will never look at a post a note and not think of him. We went to Black Hawk, usually once month and it was about the only place he didn't worry about how much he spent, David and I completed each other. He taught me how to watch my spending and I taught him that it is only money and it was okay to buy things for himself. He worked hard at getting me to pick up after myself and I brought him fun. He made me feel loved and I made him feel needed. After taking care of myself for years it was so nice to come home to him. He often didn't feel like he was a good husband because he didn't do these major things but I told him often how much his taking out the garbage, making our bed and doing dishes meant to me.
David was diagnosed with throat cancer in December of 09. His proposal to me is a memory I will always cherish. He was so sick after a round of chemo that he was using a walker to get around with but he got down on his knees, took my hand and said, "I would be honored if you would be my wife for all time." I cried and then had to help him get up off the floor. We were married here, at Rowan, with family and friends on February 20, 2010. David felt it was one of the best days of his life.
David enjoyed showing me things in Denver he remembered. I remember he laughed when I talked about the mountains I saw when I got close to Denver for the first time, he informed me those were just foothills. When we actually drove up into the mountains the first time, he remembered my foothills and said, "Now these are mountains." We shared so much in our short time. David was so literal in some things, if I said, "I'm going to run to the store' he would say, "Why don't you take the car" I will never be able to look at donuts in the same way again, every weekend he would have to have donuts. After he got sick he still had his donuts, this was a "tradition" for him. When I still lived in Iowa I would buy a donut and on Saturday we would chat and eat our donuts together, the last thing he ate was a donut.
David never realized how much of an impact he made on others. He felt that he never did anything because he couldn't remember all the good he did. From the Fed-ex man who brought him his hospice meds, to his friend Charlie, long time internet friend Anne and to me David was a wonderful man who accomplished so much with disabilities and never gave up. He was loving and caring and was my best friend. I could talk to him about everything and even when we had disagreements we would talk them out instead of letting things get to the point where we were angry. He died knowing he was loved by me, his friends and his new family. The last day of his life he would take Brandi's hand and not let go. He only did this with her, in the short time they got to be father/daughter a bond developed. There were many visitors the day he died and he woke up and smiled at each one. When Diane Good came he got the biggest smile on his face and gave her a kiss. Diane had been a great friend to him who took care of him when I went on my trip to Boston and when I was in the hospital. Sandy Matuzic was another favorite person of his, they would talk for hours about spiritual things and David always said, "she's a good kid". David was thrilled that when we got married he had a "family" of his own. In the months before he died he made sure people knew he had a step-daughter and was a grampa. David always had to have the last word and about an hour after the funeral home took him, Brandi and I heard this dripping from the bathroom. There was a big leak from the apartment upstairs. We have a large hole in our ceiling now, I think it was David's way of saying, "I made it up here."
The things he said that he prayed to god for he had got in the last years, someone to love him and be loved by, a dog and a family. I am so glad I was the one who gave them to him. The last 3 years of his life was filled with love and he died in my arms, being loved.
Diania Briggs
He graduated from Wheatridge High in 1968. He joined the army and was in Viet Nam from 69-71. He was an accounting specialist and while there he and a team of auditors were instrumental in stopping a scandal where officers were taking millions of dollars from the PX, he received a commendation for it. He didn't see a lot of battle because of his position as an accountant. His memory problems made it so he was lucky in the aspect of not remembering any of the battles he was in.
He came home from the army, married his first wife Connie and 9 months later they were in a car accident. She died and he was in a coma for 35 days. He had suffered severe brain trauma, broken pelvis, hip and many other serious injuries. They did not believe he was going to live but he was a fighter and did. He had to re teach himself to walk, write, eat and many other basics. He ended up with long term and short term memory loss. He would recognize someone but couldn't remember how or why. His family had to reintroduce themselves to him. Sometimes he couldn't remember he had lunch 30 min earlier. David always felt he should be a working member of society and attempted to work even with his memory issues, he worked at 19 different jobs trying to find one that would fit his abilities. He was not a quitter.
David has a half sister, Peggy and one named Kathy, he had a half brother, Jimmy who passed a long time ago. Peggy has been a wonderful support for David and I. She lives in Kentucky but has called or emailed often. It is because of Peggy that David and I met. For his birthday each year she would get him a subscription to POGO, an on line game site where you can chat with people. Late one night, in October 2007 after work I was playing a game called, "Tri-peaks Solitaire" and PLYRDVD2001 came in started a conversation with me "BRATNDIDI", we talked until 5:30am. He told me had memory issues but it was weird because the next day I had to re-introduce myself. It took about a week for him to remember who I was, but once he did he never forgot. We spent the next 4 months chatting on yahoo, POGO and on the phone. We would talk on the phone for hours. New Years Eve we talked for 5 hours on the phone and when it was midnight in Iowa we toasted and then an hour later in Denver. He was funny and sweet and made me laugh. In February I came out to meet him in person; I had only seen a picture of his face and when I opened the door to let him in there was this skinny little man and I thought "oh he is so not my type". I am glad I didn't let that 1st impression be what I judged him on though because over the next 6 weeks we were together almost 24 hours a day; I found out what a thoughtful, caring person he was. I also found my job at Rowan and that has been a great experience. David liked Rowan and did some volunteering here, he would also come and help me file. We know that he helped with one of the residents and she still remembers him.
David spent years collecting stamps and coins. He volunteered at nursing homes and did illiteracy teaching, he took care of his parents when then were dying and spent a lot of time at the "Hangout" which was a center for those with brain injuries. David had an affinity for animals, they all loved him. My cat, Maggie had always hated men but David spoiled her rotten and it got so she would greet him first when we came home and she didn't like it if I sat by him. My daughter, Brandi, was here to help with his passing and she brought her dog, Pee with her, David was so happy to have a dog after we had to get rid of Karma. A few nights before he died he was pretty sedated but woke up and asked for the dog. Pee got up on the bed and David petted him for a long time. One thing he did almost every day was go to Denny's or Village Inn, have coffee and write. He said his goal in life was to "empty every pen I find". His brain injury made his writings pretty abstract but if you tore the sentence apart you could find some very interesting thoughts in it.
David never let his brain injury get in the way of doing things. He did very well by himself. Many people, who first met David, never realized the memory issues. It was only after you got to know David that you realized that. He took trips on his own, dealing with airports and everything else. He made a lot of notes and I will never look at a post a note and not think of him. We went to Black Hawk, usually once month and it was about the only place he didn't worry about how much he spent, David and I completed each other. He taught me how to watch my spending and I taught him that it is only money and it was okay to buy things for himself. He worked hard at getting me to pick up after myself and I brought him fun. He made me feel loved and I made him feel needed. After taking care of myself for years it was so nice to come home to him. He often didn't feel like he was a good husband because he didn't do these major things but I told him often how much his taking out the garbage, making our bed and doing dishes meant to me.
David was diagnosed with throat cancer in December of 09. His proposal to me is a memory I will always cherish. He was so sick after a round of chemo that he was using a walker to get around with but he got down on his knees, took my hand and said, "I would be honored if you would be my wife for all time." I cried and then had to help him get up off the floor. We were married here, at Rowan, with family and friends on February 20, 2010. David felt it was one of the best days of his life.
David enjoyed showing me things in Denver he remembered. I remember he laughed when I talked about the mountains I saw when I got close to Denver for the first time, he informed me those were just foothills. When we actually drove up into the mountains the first time, he remembered my foothills and said, "Now these are mountains." We shared so much in our short time. David was so literal in some things, if I said, "I'm going to run to the store' he would say, "Why don't you take the car" I will never be able to look at donuts in the same way again, every weekend he would have to have donuts. After he got sick he still had his donuts, this was a "tradition" for him. When I still lived in Iowa I would buy a donut and on Saturday we would chat and eat our donuts together, the last thing he ate was a donut.
David never realized how much of an impact he made on others. He felt that he never did anything because he couldn't remember all the good he did. From the Fed-ex man who brought him his hospice meds, to his friend Charlie, long time internet friend Anne and to me David was a wonderful man who accomplished so much with disabilities and never gave up. He was loving and caring and was my best friend. I could talk to him about everything and even when we had disagreements we would talk them out instead of letting things get to the point where we were angry. He died knowing he was loved by me, his friends and his new family. The last day of his life he would take Brandi's hand and not let go. He only did this with her, in the short time they got to be father/daughter a bond developed. There were many visitors the day he died and he woke up and smiled at each one. When Diane Good came he got the biggest smile on his face and gave her a kiss. Diane had been a great friend to him who took care of him when I went on my trip to Boston and when I was in the hospital. Sandy Matuzic was another favorite person of his, they would talk for hours about spiritual things and David always said, "she's a good kid". David was thrilled that when we got married he had a "family" of his own. In the months before he died he made sure people knew he had a step-daughter and was a grampa. David always had to have the last word and about an hour after the funeral home took him, Brandi and I heard this dripping from the bathroom. There was a big leak from the apartment upstairs. We have a large hole in our ceiling now, I think it was David's way of saying, "I made it up here."
The things he said that he prayed to god for he had got in the last years, someone to love him and be loved by, a dog and a family. I am so glad I was the one who gave them to him. The last 3 years of his life was filled with love and he died in my arms, being loved.
Diania Briggs
