David  A. Markoff, 62, of Kirkwood passed away peacefully at his home, November 14, 2015, surrounded by his loving family, after a brief but valiant battle with cancer. Dave was an outspoken, one-of-a-kind man full of both knowledge and love. Throughout his career as a masonry contractor Dave was almost never seen without one of his sons working by his side. With great pride, Dave spent most of his life teaching his children the construction trades and everyday life lessons. He especially enjoyed the time he spent with Sherry, Donny and Julie at the Markoff pond in W. Windsor. Dave is survived by his amazingly loving wife Sherry, who never once left his side, his beloved sons, Dave, Jr., Jason (Amanda), Patrick (Samantha), Ryan (Amanda) and Kevin and the light of his life, his daughter Elizabeth, seven grandchildren which he simply adored; Justin, Gigi, Brandon, Phoenix, Lillyana, Carter and Rylan,  several aunts, his  Markoff and Murray cousins who were always a special part of his life, a multitude of friends that are simply too numerous to list, but who all knew Dave and his larger than life personality in their own special way and his loving and loyal Rottweiler Nala. He was predeceased by his parents Merlin and Rita (Murray) Markoff and a son Christopher. Sherry and the kids are especially grateful to everyone who has been part of Dave's life, and wish to thank cousins, Donny and his wife Julie Markoff, Ron Markoff , special friends Karl and Suzanne Eschbach, Cliff Marshall and everyone at Amrex for all their support during Dave's illness.
 
Special words from Ryan: "I love you dad and will always remember all that you taught me. Thank you and I will make you proud.
 
Memories from his cousins: Our very first memory of Dave is when he was about 2 or 3 - Mert and Rita got him out of bed to meet us when we returned from a trip overseas. He was an adorable blonde boy with huge green eyes, and at that age, shy. Not too many people know he was a pretty good chess player (he was 11 and Karen 15 when they became chess partners), that babysitting him could be awful or great fun, that he loved his dog, Nicki, that he referred to living in our house jokingly as attending "Peggy's Charm School", and that he drove down to Virginia to visit our mother just before she died. We had many good times with Dave over the past five decades - from picnics at the lake and rides on the carousel at CFJ Park to swimming in the surf at the beach in Honolulu, to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at Nana's and his parent's house and to having had many conversations about politics, the state of the world, life and his kids. He was a loving thoughtful, generous person. Even though we sometimes reminisced about David, the "kid", and then marveled at the dad and husband he became, we were not surprised by who he turned out to be - a great guy who would do anything for his family and friends - and did. We will all miss him dearly with love, Michelle.
 
Memories from Karl, Suzanne and Kirsten Eschbach - Dave was like a big brother and sometimes father to me. Whenever I needed him he was there. Suzanne and I are proud to have been there to help both him and Sherry when they  needed us, especially during the past few weeks. Dave is the only grandfather our daughter Kirsten has ever known and she loves him deeply and says a prayer for him every night. We enjoyed all the pig roasts, parties and fun we had together. We will never forget him and will always love and miss him.
 
A gathering to celebrate Dave's life will be held Sunday December 20 at the West Windsor Fire Station, 9 Karla Dr. Windsor from 3:00 - 7:00 pm. There will be a time to share memories at 6:00 pm. Visit www.HEFUNERALHOME to sign Dave's online guestbook and read a more detailed obituary. Cremation services provided by the Hopler & Eschbach Funeral Home, 483 Chenango St. Binghamton
 

IF LOVE COULD HAVE SAVED YOU

YOU NEVER WOULD HAVE DIED.

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