David Dean Panek

On Sunday, August 26 ^th , 2018, David Dean Panek, loving husband and father of two, passed away out on his land doing what he loved at the age of 57. David was born on September 28 ^th , 1960 to Gerald and Marlee (Akkerman) Panek. He was a man of many hats. He spent many years farming with his father, sandblasting with Mark Witt at M.A. Witt, performing concrete work at Voss and Sons and currently performed all around maintenance at Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

On September 29 ^th , 1984 he married the love of his life, Cindy Sue Kerns, who as Dave would say chased him down and trapped him. They raised two children, Bobbi Sue Clark (Timothy) and Dillon David Panek (fiancé Amber Jorgenson). David had a passion for hunting, fishing, riding ATV’s and anything that had to do with the woods or outdoors. Above his love for the outdoors he always made sure his love for his family shined the brightest. He always beamed proudly when telling one of his stories about Cindy, Dillon and Bobbi… and there was always a story to be heard when with David. It was clear to anyone who knew him that everything he did came from a place of love. He possessed what is becoming a rare trait of genuinely caring about everyone he called a friend. He always took the time to make sure someone was doing ok and felt special and loved. The childlike smile on his face he displayed, even at 57, when doing something to get the young and old and everyone in between involved in the outdoors which brought joy to anyone nearby. His love for his friends resulted in many four in the morning card games at the Kwik Trip where you could hear his loving ribbing on his friends and his one of a kind laugh. He was quick with a joke, advise on work or life (whether you wanted it or not) and he was always the first person to volunteer to lend someone a helping hand regardless of whatever he had going on. He had a charisma to himself where he could make a comment, at what would be the most inappropriate time for anyone else, to lighten the mood and bring love to a room. His four granddaughters were the highlight of his life. They were his rare reason to skip morning cards to make them breakfast and plan a fishing trip with them. He even got a Facebook account so he could check on new pictures and stories of them, comment how much he loved them and always signed the comment, “love gramps.” He also showed much love for his grand dog, Reggie (Dillon and Amber’s puppy), but had to comment it wasn’t quite the grandson he envisioned. When the good Lord decided to call him home he did it in the only way David would have wanted. He had made breakfast for his grandkids and went to the woods, smiling like a child as he rode his ATV to clear trails to have his friends and family over. David was always up for an adventure and loved bringing along whoever was up for it. As David would say,” I may grow old, but will never grow up”.

David was preceded in death by his mother Marlee and his father-in-law Donald Kerns. He is survived by his father, Gerald, his three brothers, Jim, Ricky and Kevin, his sister Jodi, his wife Cindy, his two children, Bobbi and Dillon, his four grandchildren, Davin, Kielynn, Elliana and Adeline, his mother-in-law Elva Kerns, and many nieces and nephews.