David Mark Pickett

David Mark Pickett was born in Russell Kansas on September 4th, 1936 to Pearl and Ralph A. Pickett. He was the youngest of three children, having an older brother, George Pickett and older sister Betty Evans. Ralph worked in the oil industry and retired from Humble Oil. His mother was a homemaker. Growing up, David was active in sports and Boy Scouts. He was one of only two boys from his Boy Scout troop chosen to go to the second National Boy Scout Jamboree in 1950 at Valley Forge, PA with Boy Scouts from all over the country. They traveled by train, visiting several museums, monuments and National Parks along the way. They saw the Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls, toured the Ford factory in Detroit and were treated to a big-league baseball game in Philadelphia. The scouts from Kansas brought several small envelopes of wheat so they could share a little bit of Kansas with folks they met along the way. Some people they met didn't even know what wheat was! David graduated from Russell High School in 1954. During his time there he excelled at football and set the record in Track and Field. He was also a star basketball player, and in his senior year, 1954, his team won the state championship. He received not one but two basketball scholarships from Southwestern Louisiana Institute and Kansas State University. David had three children with his wife, Patricia Nelson, who he met while in Lafayette, LA. He joined the Airforce Reserves and was honorably discharged in October of 1964. He worked for a time as a Field Manager for Curtis Circulation Co. in Corpus Christy, TX and in Marketing for Peterson Publishing Co. in Houston, TX. It was after ending up back in Kansas that David started working in real estate. When he wasn't selling land, he was selling cars - something else he had a passion for. David was a good salesman and a bit of a hustler at heart. He could sell just about anything. He appreciated a good bargain and loved going to yard sales, garage sales, estate sales, auctions and thrift shops. It was one of his favorite pastimes. He didn't always buy for himself, more often than not, he would buy something that he knew would be just perfect for someone else. In 1978 David met Margaret Martin. Margaret was good for David, and she took care of him until the very end, even while dealing with her own health issues. She was always there to keep him in line and hold his hand. And we thank her for that. He loved her very much. David is preceded in death by his oldest son, Steven Evans, his sister Betty Evans, his brother George Pickett and parents, Ralph & Pearl Pickett. He is survived by his remaining children and their spouses, Mark and Nelda Pickett and Stacey and Martin Jacques, his partner in love, Margaret Martin, nephews Kendall and Greg Pickett, several grandchildren and great grandchildren and many, many friends. David had a good life. He loved sports, fast cars, black Labs named Sausage and time spent with friends at the pub. He had many people that loved him. He was an extremely generous and well-liked man, and he will be greatly missed. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11:00 am Thursday, June 16th at Grace Baptist Church, 1110 NE Michigan Avenue. A reception will follow. Please feel free to share memories of David or add pictures to this website