David McDowell
Home ] Up ] What's New ] FC Builds & Blogs ] Historical Literature ] MY Vehicles & Projects ] In the Movies & YouTube ] Items for Sale ] Tech Questions ] Contact Us ] FC Gallery ] FC Magazine Articles ] FC Links ] FC Auction Results ] FC Roundups & Get-Togethers ] Featured Vehicles ] FC Registry ] Forward Control History & General Information ] UPCOMING FORWARD CONTROL JEEP EVENTS ]
 

.

David & Jesse (2011 Roundup)

 

Dave McDowell, died this week in the hospital near his home in Mesa, AZ, his wife Lynn at his side, he attended the last three FC-Roundups, Dave was an FC Owner who for many years, his Jeep Forward Control was his daily driver, it is one of the most rare survivors, it had previously been a US Postal FC-170 flat bed truck. Three years ago Dave came on Sunday, just as everyone was leaving the Roundup, he was so sick, he had a blanket on him, over his head and a large coat on, he was weak and he could barely walk, it was 90 degrees that day, he was fighting the effects of the Chemo therapy, his intent was that he wanted to meet me and wanted me to buy and assemble his truck. He had started to restore it, and had it all apart before getting sick, he had wanted to keep it, but he was dying of Cancer, I told him, I would go see it. It was a reminder that Cancer is a disease can happen at anytime to anyone. Steve Elkins and I went the next day and we were there to see what he was talking about. The truck was in so many pieces in his back yard, even I wondered, how we would ever get it all out, through his little door he had cut to go through to the back of the one car garage. He had taken the truck completely apart piece by piece and taken all of the parts into the back yard. where it was just sitting getting rusted as yard art. Last year with a crew including my friend Dave Forde of Canada, we got it all out of the back yard piece by piece, and then assembled it on the trailer, in his front yard, enough to get all of the big pieces on the trailer, we also had two truck loads of boxes of small parts. He came by last year to the event, but he was so sick that day that he didn't get to stay and visit. This year his wife and mother-in-law brought him, he was so happy to be here and happy to see his truck again, it was so good for some of us to see him so happy. Last night, Andrea and I attended Dave's Celebration of life, I am glad we went. Another one of our friends has gone.
I will miss seeing Dave's smile.

Jesse Ybarra