Jon David Eikenberry (1942-2015)
The checkered flag has waived over the life of Jon David Eikenberry, 72, of Auburn and formerly of Pasadena, California and Peru, Indiana. Dave, as he was known to friends and family, passed away on March 11, 2015 after long battle with congestive heart failure complicated by diabetes. He was born October 14, 1942 in Peru, Indiana, the second son of dairy farmer Joseph Eikenberry and his wife, Eudora. Dave spent the first 21 years of his life in Peru, where he met and married Judy Eisbrenner in 1963.
In 1964, he and Judy made the long trek to California where they eventually started a new life in Pasadena. Their only child, Melissa, was born in 1976. Dave and Judy were the co-owners of Eikenberry Plumbing, Heating, and Air until their divorce in 1984. Dave then embarked upon a career designing and installing process piping for color printing presses as the owner of Eikenberry Mechanical. He eventually returned to Indiana and opened a second company, Eikenberry Auxiliary Systems.
A fan of auto racing since seeing the movie “To Please a Lady” as a little boy, Dave enjoyed racing in all of its forms, but his favorites were NHRA Drag Racing and IndyCars. He had the pleasure of attending several Indianapolis 500’s over the years. Dave lived life to the fullest and even drag raced his beloved 1981 Corvette at various strips around Indiana in the late ‘90’s and early 2000’s. He returned to California in 2006 when his health began to decline. In 2012, Dave lost his left leg below the knee to diabetes. Though he fought hard not to lose his leg, Dave adjusted well to being “a one-legged dude” and embarked on this new chapter of his life with the assistance of the Gold Country Amputee Support Group. In addition to serving as a board member for his support group, Dave was also the President of PHCC-GLAA from 1983-1985, and an Elk, first with the Duarte chapter and then with Auburn. It should be noted that Dave came to religion late in life. In September 2014, he was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Dave is survived by his daughter, Melissa (Michael) Horvath of Auburn, CA, brother, Max Eikenberry of Delphi, IN, sister Virginia (Danny) See of Mexico, IN, and many friends and family in both California and Indiana. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in his name to the Gold Country Amputee Support Group, 1605 Grass Valley Hwy #75, Auburn, CA 95603.