From David's Masonic Funeral

Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12

Verse 1:  "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,
 while the evil days come not,
 nor the years draw nigh,
 when thou shalt say,
 I have no pleasure in them;

Verse 2:  While the sun, or the light, or the moon,
 or the stars, be not darkened,
 nor the clouds return after the rain:

Verse 3:  In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,
 and the strong men shall bow themselves,
 and the grinders cease because they are few,
 and those that look out of the windows be darkened.

Verse 4:  And the doors shall be shut in the streets,
 when the sound of the grinding is low,
 and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird,
 and all the daughters of musick
 shall be brought low;

Verse 5:  Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high,
 and fears shall be in the way,
 and the almond tree shall flourish,
 and the grasshopper shall be a burden,
 and desire shall fail:
  because man goeth to his long home,
 and the mourners go about the streets:

Verse 6:  Or ever the silver cord be loosed,
 or the golden bowl be broken,
 or the pitcher be broken at the fountain,
 or the wheel broken at the cistern.

Verse 7:  Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was:
  and the spirit shall return
 unto God who gave it."

Goodbye My Dear Friend

Grady David Cooksey passed away at 1:34 pm on 4/13/12. He was survived by cousins and friends who loved him and will, forever, honor his memory.

I will post information about funeral arrangements once they are finalized.

Latest News

David will be taken off of the ventilator at 1pm today.

A Fitting Tribute

I will miss you my friend, you have ever been dear.

Sad is the thought of you not being here.

I will carry our friendship deep within my heart.

That way we will never be too far apart.

You have been special to me, that much is true.
Without you, often times, I wouldn’t have known what to do.

I depended on you and you on me.

No better friends could there ever be.

Lodge meetings, dinner, drinks, it was always so much fun.

It seems like we could talk for hours and never be done.

We will meet again, in a better life that follows this.

But until that joyous time, make no mistake, you will be missed.

Latest Update

David will be moved to palliative care on Thursday. Sometime Friday afternoon he will be removed from the ventilator.

One of David's Favorite Stories

David loved to tell the story about how HE is responsible for Rhonda and I dating. Pretty much his story is accurate. David and I met 2 of our lodge brothers for dinner at Jackson's in Homewood. I saw a beautiful dark haired, blue eyed lady, and I was love struck. David encouraged me to approach her and gave me advice on how to do it.

3 years later I'm still dating Rhonda. I guess David's advice worked!

He Enjoyed Life

David was often the life of the party. He loved spending time with his friends.

David's Passion for Breast Cancer Awareness

After David's mother passed away he made it his mission to increase awareness for breast cancer. He called Mayor Langford's office and pitched an idea for having city hall lit in pink during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Mayor loved the idea and took it a step farther. He had the Vulcan, city hall, and city streets lit in pink. It was an amazing accomplishment by David and a wonderful tribute to his mother. David took great pride in the fact that his mother would be proud of him.

Check out the great story CBS 42 did:

http://www.cbs42.com/content/localnews/story/Birmingham-Goes-Pink/9l7CSOvHi0OfSp8QXvtllA.cspx

David Being David

David LOVED Cadillacs. He told everyone this one was the "Superman" edition. Several people told him that they had heard of it or were looking for that edition. He would just smile and never tell them he made it up!

We Love You and Will Miss You

Dear David,

I want to thank you for being my friend for the past 6 years. During this time I have had many peaks and valleys in my life and you were there with me through them all. You were there for me in the ER and afterwards, you were the reason I met Rhonda, you were excited about Chandler moving in with me. When life was tough, or when life was great, I knew I had a friend that I could rely on. In only 6 years you have left me with a lifetime of memories.