They say it's the thought that counts, and David Bowden was always counting.
He was good with numbers – dates especially. He didn’t forget a birthday, marking hundreds of them by crafting cards for his friends, neighbours, co-workers and fellow church members. In fact, he would remember not only a date of birth, but could tell you what day of the week your birthday would fall on this year, and what day of the week you were born.
If you’ve shopped at Loblaws in downtown Collingwood, you’ve met David. He wore a special order nametag identifying him as “Carts Manager,” a role he approached with the same positivity, friendliness, and thoughtfulness that marked all of the roles he held in his 64 years of life.
For the last 30 years, David worked his shifts at Loblaws, collecting the carts from the parking lot, helping customers load their groceries into their vehicles, remembering to ask them about their families and their pets.
Fellow Collingwood Loblaw Great Food employee Shawn Cooper was a teenager starting one of his first jobs when he met David at the grocery store. They’ve been colleagues ever since. Cooper received many of David’s signature hand-made birthday cards.
“He really was such a special man,” said Cooper. “Whether you’ve known him for 30 years or one day, people can recognize how special David was and what a positive ray of light he was.”
David was known to give the “hard worker’s massage,” a tight squeeze to the shoulders and an encouraging word — which worked, more than once, for Cooper.
“You’d kind of soldier on from there,” said Cooper.
Around David, no nametag stayed askew, no frown stayed for long.
“The little things that he did, the details he would pay attention to really went a long way with the people who worked there and the customers that would come in,” said Cooper. “He was a staple in our community for 30-plus years.”
He treasured his 30-year work anniversary pin and watch, and talked excitedly about retiring at the end of 2023.
David was an only child. His parents, Donald and Betty Bowden, died in the early 2000s and he lived with a caretaker, and a beagle/basset hound cross named Blue Boy.
He loved old, wholesome TV shows like Touched by an Angel and The Waltons.
David bowled on the Special Olympics team, and every Sunday for 30 years, he attended the service at Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church, wearing a suit and one of his dad’s ties, the colour of which matched the season. He paired them with one of his large collection of lapel pins, given to him by his mom.
At church, it was his job to take attendance and put up the hymn numbers before service. He had also taken to handwriting the gospel verse of the day from Bible study and delivering it to the pastor so he, too, could have a gospel message that day.
“He would help me out often by leading in a prayer or doing one of the readings in Bible study,” said Pastor Ken Maher, who has led the congregation at Christ Our Hope for the last 15 years. “Unlike most of my members who like to sit as far away from the pastor as possible, he would always sit right up close to me.”
Nearly every Sunday, David brought a list of prayer requests for people he knew and met through work. If they were ill, struggling, sad, or in need, he knew, he prayed, and he asked his church to pray, too.
Maher feels the loss of his friend and church family member hard.
“Everywhere you look in the church, there are reminders of him,” said Maher.
On a memory wall, David’s church family has placed his mug — a souvenir from Great Wolf Lodge with his name written across it.
“While we are sad that he’s not here with us, we rejoice in the fact that he’s with his mom and dad again,” said Maher, noting that was something David looked forward to. “I think everyone who knew him, no matter how much time they had with him, would have wished for more.”
That’s one wish Collingwood’s Santa Claus wishes he could grant. The local Santa has been receiving phone calls from David every holiday season.
“It started about seven years ago, my phone rang and a very familiar voice said ‘hello, Santa!’ He truly believed,” said Santa. “We would have a chat about how he was doing and what he wanted … this kept up year after year.”
David’s requests were down-to-earth. He would ask for a watch, a hat, a coat.
“I always look forward to his calls,” said Santa, who shed tears as he posted a farewell to David to social media.
David died on Feb. 7, 2023, at the age of 64 years old.
There will be a service of remembrance at Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church on Beachwood Road on Friday, Feb. 17 at 3:30 p.m. with refreshments to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to David’s church. The service will also be livestreamed on the church’s Facebook page.