David was born in Mississippi, one of eight children. He grew up there,
completing the 8th grade before quitting to help out on the farm. He
finally moved to California where he met and married Sheila Gordon.
They had no children and when David returned from a stint in WW2, were
divorced. David returned to Mississippi where he met Ruby. They married
on 5 November, 1946 in Indianola, Mississippi.
They later moved to Oklahoma where David worked as a share cropper and later
a grocery store clerk. In 1947 they moved to California where all 3 of
their children were born. They returned to Oklahoma in 1953 and have
lived there every since. David took work as a road construction hand and
eventually became the supervisor for bridge construction. They moved
frequently, finally settling in Elk City after David retired from the
construction business.