David Francis Dudek passed away Friday, September 4, 2020 at Oak Hill Hospital in Spring Hill, FL following a brief illness. David was born in Hartford, CT on September 2, 1952, to Elizabeth (Ida) and Alfred Dudek, Sr. He was raised in Killingworth, CT where his family moved in 1963. He attended Killingworth Elementary School and was a 1970 graduate of Xavier High School in Middletown, CT. He also attended Middlesex Community College. David moved to Spring Hill, FL in 2009 where he was employed by Zymol, also in Spring Hill. He retired in 2012. He was previously employed with The Hartford Courant where he worked as a Circulation Manager for many years.
David was a veteran member of the Killingworth Volunteer Fire Company (KVFC). He proudly served the KVFC in many capacities from 1972 to 1986, rising to the level of Deputy Chief. Most notably during this time, he was instrumental in establishing the Rescue Squad and served as the KVFC’s first Rescue Captain. He was also an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and a certified EMT instructor.
David was a student at heart and had a love of learning confirmed by his many subscriptions to magazines and newspapers. His passion was reading anything he could get his hands on, but he especially enjoyed mystery novels. David had a dry quirky sense of humor and loved a good joke. He was always trying to make others laugh and the nurses who took care of him in his last weeks shared that he teased and joked with them all the way until the day he left their care.
David was preceded in death by his mother, Elizabeth, his father, Alfred and his sister Frances. He is survived by his brother Alfred Dudek, Jr. and wife Linda (Marquard) of Killingworth, Connecticut, sister Jo-Ellen (Dudek) Morman and husband Robert of Killingworth, Connecticut, brother Stanley Dudek and his husband Jonathan Barth of California, and brother John Dudek of Centerbrook, Connecticut. He also leaves behind several nieces and nephews, his uncle, Albert DiPrato of Wethersfield, CT and many cousins.
A private celebration of life will be held by the family at a later date. Memorial contributions can be made to the Killingworth Volunteer Fire Company, 333 Route 81, Killingworth, CT 06419.