A Texas native, Dave served in the Army prior to attending the University of Montana beginning in 1957. He began jumping out of Missoula two years later and continued for the next seven years. Later, as a commercial pilot, he flew for Frontier Airlines and, as a civilian, for the U.S. Air Force.

In 2000 he suffered a stroke that slowed him down somewhat. Dave died of a massive heart attack at his home in Palm Bay Florida on January 5, 2006. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in the ocean off the coast of Florida, an area he often sailed.