David John Weinfurtner

David Weinfurtner was born October 22, 1947 in Marshfield, Wisconsin to the union of Lawrence Andrew Weinfurtner and Adeline Irene Gubbels. When he was a little boy, David's dad called him "Small Fry."

In June 1957, David contracted Rheumatic Fever which led to a major heart murmur. He found out at the time that his Mitral Valve was damaged.

He attended and graduated from Pacelli High School in Stevens Point, Wisconsin in 1966. Since David enjoyed music, he performed in the High School Glee Club all four years. After High school, David attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point for two years. For the succeeding three years, David attended the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and graduated with a B.B.A. (Bachelor of Business Administration) in 1971 majoring in Industrial and Governmental Accounting and minoring in History. Subsequently, David sat for, and passed all four parts of the CPA exam.

After graduation from college, David worked for about seven months at Lullabye Company in Stevens Point. In April of 1972, David moved up to Minneapolis, MN to take a position in Accounts Receivable at a bakery. From there he moved on to U.S. Bedding Co. (formerly King Koil) and then on to the Minnesota Department of Administration as a civil service employee in accounting. From there, he went to work for the Minnesota Veterans Home and eventually to the Minnesota Department of Health.

In late 1976, David met Carol Anne Egtvet and they married on April 23, 1977 in Pinewood, MN. David and Carol had two children from that marriage: Melanie, born May 13, 1981 and Gavin, born May 7, 1984. During that time, David and Carol attended Cross of Glory Baptist church in Hopkins, Minnesota.

Continuing his love of music, David sang in the choir at Cross of Glory. David and Carol moved up to Central Minnesota near Brainerd in 1989. That marriage ended May 24, 1994. In approximately 1980, David accepted Jesus as his personal Savior.

On January 9, 1995, David moved from Central Minnesota to Lake Charles, Louisiana. Prior to that, David had met Mary Thorpe who worked for Grand Casino. David and Mary married in 1996 in Glad Tidings church in Lake Charles, Louisiana. That marriage ended in 1999. In late 1999, David met a woman who lived in the New Orleans area. That led to David moving to the New Orleans area (Gretna) in 2000 where he met Judith Fischer in late 2000. David knew then and there Judith was the love of his life, and God had caused this relationship to happen. David and Judith married on December 29, 2001.

David and Judi continued to live in Covington and then they moved to Algiers Point in about 2003. On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit the New Orleans area with major flooding. That led to David and Judi moving to Lake Charles. During this whole time, David continued to see his general practitioner. In about 2003, David started seeing a Cardiologist. That cardiologist said that David's Aortic Valve was bad, and he would need surgery in about 3 years. That valve was bad probably because of David's episode of Rheumatic Fever in 1957.

After David and Judi settled in Lake Charles, David started seeing Dr. Kevin Young for his cardiologist. Every 6 months Dr. Young took an Echocardiogram. In May 2011, David's Echo changed drastically. Dr. Young Advised David to have open heart surgery to have his Aortic Valve replaced. That was done June 16, 2011 in Christus-St. Patrick Hospital. After having a swift recovery, David joined The Mended Hearts. He visited heart patients every Monday. David made a difference in many people's lives. David did this until his death. The Mended Hearts was David's real passion. In September of 2013, David and Judi changed their worship venue. They started going to Trinity Baptist Church. In about October 2013, David became an usher at Trinity. He also did that up until the time of his death.

As time went by and Judi and David continued going to Trinity, they became closer to God and to each other. David found out that unless a marriage is a triangle (with God in the middle), the marriage will not survive.

David is survived by his wife, Judi, his daughter Melanie of Epsom, New Hampshire; his son, Gavin of Rapid City, South Dakota (in the Air Force) and two grandchildren. David was preceded in death by his parents.

David's funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, August 8, 2024 in the Johnson Funeral Home Chapel. Visitation will be from 9:00 until the start of the service at 11:00. Cremation has been entrusted to Johnson Funeral Home of Lake Charles.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to NAMI Southwest Louisiana, 401 Gerdsen St., Lake Charles, LA 70601, https://www.nami.org.

The family would like to give special thanks to Harbor Hospice for their compassionate care during Dave's last days.