Obituary published on Legacy.com by Bravo Family Mortuary on Jan. 10, 2024.
David Brian Forbis, 62, passed away at his home in Alpine on January 6, 2024 with his devoted wife Laura by his side. David was predeceased by his parents Emma Jane and Huge Temple Forbis, and his older brother Jeff, all of whom he dearly missed and has now joined in heaven.
David was born with a sweet and kind soul on February 18, 1961 in Glendora, California. Soon after he was born, his family moved to Descanso. David loved his childhood in Descanso, especially spending time with his older brothers riding bikes in the hills, swimming in the lake at Stallion Oaks, and living the country life.
Born into a family that loved the desert, David grew up holding handlebars and steering wheels. He loved riding motorcycles in the hard pack, riding bowls in the dunes, night rides in Glamis and camping with his family. His life’s work was built on his love of the desert life, working at Johnson’s Bug Machine for 20 years before opening his own business, Buggyworks, in 2002. David was a master diagnostician, and could build or fix anything. He was proud of the business he built helping others enjoy their lives in the sand.
David was a full-time adventure seeker and lifelong athlete. Highly competitive, he spent decades traveling the country playing fast-pitch softball tournaments, and raced downhill mountain bikes for twenty years. He golfed, played tournament pool, and raced motocross. His injuries and the scars on his body told his life story. He introduced many friends and family to the sports he loved so much, and was especially proud of helping Jake Mount (8 yrs old) improve his throwing and batting. He met his wife Laura while mountain biking in Mammoth Lakes, and it wasn’t long before they were going on mountain bike adventures all over California and the Southwest. He will always be remembered by his loving wife, Laura Noonan and her daughter Amanda; Aunt Nancy Thompson of Monterey Park; older brother Tom of Lakeside, his son Sean Yuen, and his wife Marta; older brother Tim of Vancouver, Washington, and his son Tom; older sister Debi (Koch) of Coeur d’Alene, her daughter Angela Ockunzzi of Newport Beach, and her husband AJ; niece and nephew Molly Noonan and Hunter Noonan. He was also greatly loved and will be greatly missed by the many friends he made throughout his lifetime. David’s dogs were a cherished part of his life. Blue, Bandit and Django are taking long walks and trail rides with him now. A celebration of life will be held at the Bravo Family Mortuary, 4427 Rainier Avenue, San Diego, on Sunday January 28th. Doors will open for visitation at 12:30 pm and the service will begin at 1:00 pm. https://www.bravofamilymortuary.com/
David’s family would like to thank Sharp Hospice for their compassionate care during the last few months of his life. The family would also like to thank the many people who reached out with love and prayers. He felt deeply loved, and it made an indescribable difference. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of David, please visit our floral store.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Editor’s note
I played against Dave in the San Diego leagues over the years, and was lucky enough to call him a teammate for one season, along with good friend Barry Woolery and a cast of characters on a team appropriately named the “San Diego Zoo”.?That photo above captures the Dave Forbis that most of us knew, smiling, enjoying life, while marching to his own drummer and listening to his own music.
Barry Woolery remembers that team that featured Dave as a key part of our pitching staff:
“Chris Hamill formed and managed the Zoo and we had a rough start but by the last three weekends we were really a top team. Jim Flanagan, Jason Iuli and Dave Forbis were our staff. Bobby Siquerios, Val Palkowski, Barry Woolery, Kevin Petty, Jeff Simpson, Steve Sabala, Ricky Siquerios, Dale Odell, Willy Holt, Jeff Leuthard, John Kennedy, Brian Danley, Joe Perez and late in the year Steve Miner, Gene Levi, Val Cervantes, Paul Castillo and Cesar Duran. Early in the season we had Mike Cook for one weekend and Al Rohrback for the weekend at the Naval base in Coronado. Also in Coronado we had a pitcher named Graham Balog.
Barry Woolery notes that Dave’s friends spent some special time with Dave before his passing:
“Aaron Owens put together a dinner with Dave a couple of months ago and Dave said that he didn’t originally want to go. It was very touching to hear him say at the end of the dinner that he was glad that he went. We had Aaron and his dad Bob, Willy Holt, Vince Fernandez, Russ Snow, Al Rohrback, Steve Sabala, Jack and Leann Files, John Omahen, John Moreno, Chris Hamill and me my wife Chris and Dave’s wife Laura. Very special night indeed.”
