They don’t make ’em like Dave Nannini anymore. He was one of a kind.
We knew him well, and the relationship grew over many years.
It started when we had a number of women working for the newspaper who were Air Force wives, and for one reason or another, their cars kept giving them problems, so they couldn’t get to work. Many of them had husbands who went on TDY, and would be gone for weeks at a time.
We told Dave about our problem, and Dave said: “Let me handle it.”
And he did.
We told the employees to take their car to Dave and their troubles would be solved.
Dave was always a people person. If the cars needed tires, and the family couldn’t afford them, he had a payment program. He put on the new tires which were needed right away, and our employees paid when they could.
Dave was also our mechanic, and took care of almost any problem. If he couldn’t fix it, he knew someone who could and the price was always reasonable.
When Dave and Suzy lost their two sons, Kevin and Brian, in a fishing accident, the loss was felt all over town. Nothing ever hit a family harder than the loss hit Dave and Suzy.
Dave did not stand around and allow depression to take over. He started an annual scholarship fundraiser, and he set up an annual baseball game between Merced High and Golden Valley High. Since both Kevin and Brian were involved in baseball it was a tribute to them and the sport they loved. That program still goes on today, and in fact the 19th annual game was just held.
It was also like a tribute to Dave, and everything he stood for in life.
He was without a doubt a people person, to know him was to like him.
When he sold his Main Street shop, Dave’s Tire World, it was like losing a good friend. Sure it was time for him to quit, because he had his share of health problems, but he never let them slow him down.
We knew we could count on him for anything.
The old saying “ask and you will receive” fit Dave to a “T”.
The whole town will miss him, and as a personal friend, it is like losing a member of the family.
He was the very best.