David Gaffney

David Gaffney, 80, died on May 26 at a care facility in Connecticut after a brief bout with cancer. He was a resident of Newtown for the past four years.

Born on December 2, 1924, he was the youngest of 11 children born to John Gaffney and Hannah Docherty.

Mr Gaffney lived most of his life in San Francisco, moving to Connecticut to be near his daughter’s family after the passing of his wife of over 50 years, Marjorie, in 2001.

While in San Francisco, David was an active member of the St Elizabeth parish and occasionally served as president of the parish sponsored over-50 club. As a retail butcher much of his adult life, he thrived on the personal interaction with his customers. Just about everywhere he went in the city, he seemed to encounter someone he knew. He made friends easily and was widely considered to be a pretty special guy.

He will be dearly missed by his daughter Linda Gaffney-Wishko; son David Jr; son-in-law David Wishko; daughter-in-law Mary Ann Gaffney; his grandchildren Stephanie Wishko, Jacob Wishko, Patricia Gaffney, Christina Vanderhoof; great-granddaughter Natalie Vanderhoof; grand-son-in-law Michael Vanderhoof; and many other family members. His brother, Tom, and his sister, Beth, also survive him.

Funeral arrangements were handled by Duggan Serra Mortuary of Daly City, Calif. A funeral mass was held on June 2.

Donations in his honor may be made to either the Muscular Dystrophy Association, American Cancer Society or to the donor’s favorite charity.

The Newtown Bee        June 3, 2005