David Franklin set sail on many journeys in his lifetime. A Vietnam Era veteran, he served proudly aboard the USS Prairie (AD-15), a ship that carried men and stories across the Pacific. On August 6, 2025, at the VA Medical Center hospice, after a short stay at Mercy Medical Center, David began his final journey—one of peace, love, and remembrance.

He joins in heaven his beloved wife, Leona Franklin, and his son, Raymond Nuñez III. Left to cherish his memory are his children, Christina Dietz, Aimee and Drew Specter, Alan Clark, and Angela Haymes; his grandchildren, Korbyn Nuñez, Tosha Clark, Terje Nuñez, Shira Clark,  Marcella Franklin, Darienne Dietz, Josiah Carter, and Isaac Carter; his great-grandchildren,  Quintyn, Sophia, Torey, and Carter; and his sister Janice and John Doolittle.

David’s childhood was shaped by days alongside his father and grandfather, hunting, scouting, and fishing, and by a mother who gave him a love of art. He grew into a man of many passions—sports, racing dirt bikes near Merlin, riding his Harley, and always fixing whatever could be fixed.

What anchored him most was family. He loved the chaos of family dinners, the laughter around a game of rummy or dominoes, the smell of barbecue on summer nights. He cooked spaghetti his own way and, together with Leona, raised two of his granddaughters with the same boundless love he gave his dogs and all who came into his life.

In his final days, David dreamed of fishing one more time. The river called, as it always had, but this time he could not go. And so, his children will go in his place, casting their lines as he once did. For David, life always came back to the water—its patience, its peace, its quiet strength. And now, like the rivers he loved, his spirit flows on, carrying his love forward in those who remain.

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