David Carl Boothby

David (Dave) Carl Boothby 74, passed away September 16 at his home, surrounded by love with his wife Candy, his children and many of his grandchildren at his side. He was born March 15, 1939 in Nashville, TN. The oldest of 5 children, Dave grew up on a farm in Gobles Michigan. At a young age he worked in the family construction business where he learned from his parents Russell and Marion Boothby the skills needed to operate a small business. He attended Gobles High School and Andrews University. He served for 3 years in the US Army until he was called back to take care of the family farm after the death of his father. He loved to tell the story about his very first night in the military; he was put on alert for the Cuban Missile Crisis. As an adult he lived in Kalamazoo Michigan until he and Candy married and they moved to Rock Hill South Carolina because he was really tired of shoveling snow! After moving to South Carolina, Dave established a small business in Rock Hill. He epitomized the work ethic of his generation. Dave recently told Candy that his greatest satisfaction in life was to work and that was evident in his day to day life. He rarely sat to relax during the daylight hours unless there was a NASCAR race or a USC or Carolina Panthers game on TV. Dave's hobbies and interests in addition to working included his perennial cottage garden, attending any sports events that his grandchildren were involved in, Nascar, USC football, bowling, his backhoe tractor, his garden tractor, and decorating with Christmas lights to the extreme. At the age of 73 he went skydiving for the first time, and if not for the cancer in his spine he would have taken up skydiving as a hobby. As a beloved Papa he was famous in the family for his chocolate chip pancakes. He was a charter Member of the Rock Hill SDA church which he helped to build. He enjoyed campaigning for Nikki Haley and put out and later picked up 150 campaign signs to help win her election as South Carolina Governor. Dave was preceded in death by parents, his sister Linda First, and granddaughters Bailey Sue Boothby-Vess and Addison Grace Lessmeister. Surviving are his adoring wife of 34 years, Candace "Candy" Boothby; sons Michael Folkes (Marilyn) of Glendora, CA; Jon Beck (Jessica) of Columbia, SC; daughters, Carmel Presse of Palm Bay, FL; Jami Boothby (Clay Evans ) of Lamont, FL; Kelly Lessmeister (Brad) of Catawba, SC; grandchildren Tyrel Folkes, Britny Cernyar, Eric & Alyssa Presse, Tyler Evans, Jacob, David & Madi Sioux Beck, Breanna, Lily, Braden, Emilee and Briggs Lessmeister and great-granddaughter Kaia Cernyar; brothers Herb Boothby (Sue) of Naples, FL and Russell Boothby (Sherry )of Leesburg, FL, Sister Wanda Martz (Larry) of Leesburg, FL. A visitation will be held Wednesday Sept. 18 from 6-8 p.m. at Bass-Cauthen Funeral Home. The funeral will take place Thursday Sept. 19 at the Rock Hill Seventh Day Adventist Church at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Rock Hill Parks Foundation to Benefit the Rock Hill Outdoor Center at Riverwalk, P.O. Box 11706, Rock Hill, SC 29731-1706 or to the Marijuana Policy Project (mpp.org) as during his illness Dave became convinced through personal experience that marijuana should be legalized for medicinal use.

Visitation Details

Wednesday, September 18th, 2013 6:00pm - 8:00pm, Bass-Cauthen Funeral Home

Service Information

Thursday, September 19th, 2013 11:00am, Seventh Day Adventist Church of Rock Hill

Interment Details

Grandview Memorial Park