David E. York

David E. York, 79, of Hutsonville, IL, passed away on January 16, 2026, at Haven on the River in Grayville, IL. He was born on August 5, 1946, in Robinson, and he grew up in a home where you learned by watching and then by doing. Day after day, he followed his father closely as his dad ran a construction company and took on projects that required equal parts skill and patience. David did not just observe that world. He stepped into it. He helped his dad with the work, learned the tools of the trade, and even took part in running the lumber mill in Hutsonville. Long before adulthood, he was already becoming a builder.

After graduating from Robinson High School, David joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany. It was a chapter that broadened his world, but it did not change the core of him. When he returned home, he picked up right where he left off, continuing to help his dad before finding the job that would shape the daily rhythm of his working life for decades. David went to work at Crane Naval Base, where he served for 33 years as a carpenter and painter. That commitment came with an hour-and-a-half drive each way, and he made it day after day, not because it was easy, but because he was steady, and because providing for the people he loved mattered to him. He built, repaired, and finished things with the kind of care that comes from a craftsman’s eye and a reliable hand.

And that same steadiness followed him home. He was a craftsman through and through, and he cared about doing things well. His life was full of proof. He built yard ornaments and wooden cutouts that turned the holidays into something bright and memorable. He decorated the outside of the house and filled the yard with handmade displays, and his shed is still full of yard decorations to this day. He built porches, a garage, and whatever else needed built. He even built a swingset for his wife, because love, to David, was something you could put your hands to. If something broke, David had a knack for fixing it, and if you needed help, he would move a mountain to give it.

What people remember most, though, is not just what David could do with his hands, but what he was like with his heart. He was a gentle person, kind all the time, and he did not have anything bad to say about anyone. He was a stable place to land, the kind of man who made you feel safe simply because he was there. That quiet strength showed up first and foremost in the way he loved his family. David was a devoted husband, and Jo Etta was his one true love. He kept every card they gave to each other, and in every card he wrote the same words again and again, not out of habit, but because it was true: “All my love for all my life.” He was the kind of husband who did not just say love, he built it into the life they shared.

David carried that same devotion into fatherhood. He put his family first, always, and he lived in a way that made him a role model without ever needing to announce himself as one. He showed grace under pressure. He was solid, all the time. And when he became a grandparent, it brought out a particular joy in him. David was a proud “Papaw,” and he loved being one. He made sure Emilee had everything she needed, and when she was in school, he spent time with her over math, patiently working with her until she understood it, because to David, love meant showing up and staying.

That love also overflowed beyond his own household. David looked after the people around him in the same quiet, practical way he cared for his family. He always took care of his neighbors, Morgan and Marilyn Sanders, because he simply could not help being the kind of man who noticed needs and met them. It was simply how he moved through the world: with an open hand.

If you spent time around David while he was working on a project, you probably heard his famous line: “Well, it’s good enough for who it’s for!” He meant it as a joke, but those who knew David knew there was more in it than that. It was his way of reminding everyone that perfection was not the point. People were. Love was. Showing up was. And in a world that can feel sharp around the edges, David York spent his life being the kind of man you could count on, the kind of man you could trust, and the kind of man you were grateful to have close.

He is survived by his granddaughter, Emilee & husband Philip Garner (Hutsonville, IL); his great-grandchildren, Dwaine Garner and Norah Garner (Hutsonville, IL); by his brothers-in-law, Bill & Denise Plew (Hutsonville, IL) and Donnie & Jackie Plew (Hutsonville, IL) and their families; and by his son, Ronald York. He was preceded in death by his wife of 44 years, Jo Etta York; his daughter, Gina Lynn York; his parents, George J. & Irma Mae (Conley) York; and his sister, Carol Ann Knight.

A time of visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Friday, January 23rd, at the Goodwine Funeral Home in Palestine. A graveside service will follow the visitation and will be held at the Hutsonville Cemetery, where military rites will be accorded by the combined units of the U.S. Army, Robinson V.F.W. Post #4549, Robinson American Legion Post #69, and Flat Rock American Legion Post #132. Celebrant Curt Goodwine will officiate the graveside service. Memorials may be made to the “VFW Transportation Fund”, with envelopes available at the funeral home.