Some of my classmates have asked for details about Dave Doyle. He didn't graduate with us, but he attended Northside from 7th through 11th grade, when his dad was transferred to Norfolk. Though we competed fiercely for top seat in the trumpet section, Dave was a great friend, and stayed closely in touch until his death.
Dave was in his second year as a Jazz Performance major at JMU when he was hospitalized with a recurrence of a cancer that he had beaten when he was only five years old. The cancer progressed rapidly, affecting much of his body. Dave fought bravely for five months, and doctors were optimistic for his complete recovery when he died suddenly of a stroke in November 1987.
Dave retained his high spirits and "Monty Python" sense of humor during the course of his treatment. My fondest memory of time with him was July 1987, when he rode his motorcycle from Norfolk to Roanoke to celebrate a successful surgery. Dave had a styrofoam head form that he kept his wig on when he slept (this was before the slick look was cool) and he painted the head in lifelike colors, added a little theater blood, strapped it to the back of his bike, and pinned his wig in place on it for the ride to Roanoke. He seemed disappointed that he didn't get pulled over for transporting a severed head...
It was so obvious that he felt so bad, yet his spirit was indominable- he kept telling me I needed to loosen up and have a good time! Dave was the official poster child for "Maintaining a great attitude in the face of adversity." In these dark times, we could all stand to take a page from Dave's personal playbook.
Mark Selkirk
Some of my classmates have asked for details about Dave Doyle. He didn't graduate with us, but he attended Northside from 7th through 11th grade, when his dad was transferred to Norfolk. Though we competed fiercely for top seat in the trumpet section, Dave was a great friend, and stayed closely in touch until his death.Dave was in his second year as a Jazz Performance major at JMU when he was hospitalized with a recurrence of a cancer that he had beaten when he was only five years old. The cancer progressed rapidly, affecting much of his body. Dave fought bravely for five months, and doctors were optimistic for his complete recovery when he died suddenly of a stroke in November 1987.
Dave retained his high spirits and "Monty Python" sense of humor during the course of his treatment. My fondest memory of time with him was July 1987, when he rode his motorcycle from Norfolk to Roanoke to celebrate a successful surgery. Dave had a styrofoam head form that he kept his wig on when he slept (this was before the slick look was cool) and he painted the head in lifelike colors, added a little theater blood, strapped it to the back of his bike, and pinned his wig in place on it for the ride to Roanoke. He seemed disappointed that he didn't get pulled over for transporting a severed head...
It was so obvious that he felt so bad, yet his spirit was indominable- he kept telling me I needed to loosen up and have a good time! Dave was the official poster child for "Maintaining a great attitude in the face of adversity." In these dark times, we could all stand to take a page from Dave's personal playbook.