Obituary of David Blayne Harkness

David Blayne Harkness

Dave Harkness of Tacoma passed away unexpectedly surrounded by family on February 4, 2019. 

The son of Wayne and Helen Harkness, Dave was born June 4th, 1954 at Tacoma General hospital. Dave grew up in North Tacoma, graduating from Wilson High School in 1972, before spending 18 years in the grocery business.

In 1994 at age 39, Dave set his sights on fulfilling a lifelong dream: becoming a teacher. In 1996, he completed his Masters of Education at The Evergreen State College, and spent the next 20+ years as a proud Tacoma Public Schools educator at Mason, Foss, Hunt and primarily at his alma mater Wilson, before retiring in 2016.

As a youth, Dave enjoyed spending time at the family cabin on Summit Lake. There in 1971, he met the love of his life, Cindy Lumsden. From the moment they met, she was his everything. They were married in 1975, before welcoming sons Steven in 1979, and Jon in 1981. Family and friends meant the world to Dave. Whether 4th of July fireworks and barbeques at The Lake, camping at the ocean, or road trips up and down the coast, Dave was always up for adventure and a good time.

Dave loved to play music. Beginning as a teenager, He played bass guitar and sang in numerous local Rock n’ Roll bands over the years. As a youth, “Wolf Tucker” roared from the garage to rock the Puget Sound. Popular 80’s bar band “The Crackers” kept the dance floor packed. In 1992, Dave formed high energy R&B group “The Remnants”, with whom he performed for nearly 15 years. In the early-mid 2000’s, Dave spent several years with folk act “The Chymes of Freedom”, and was most recently a member of classic rock trio “The Rockodiles”.

Sports were also a huge part of Dave’s life. Whether waterskiing at the lake, playing slow pitch, or coaching youth rec-sports (and later at the middle/high school level), Dave loved the spirit of competition. A die-hard local sports fan and Seahawks Season Ticket holder, Dave regularly attended home games since the inaugural season in 1976.

Dave was preceded in death by his mother Helen, brother Ken, and father Wayne. A beloved husband, father, grandfather and son-in-law, Dave is survived by his wife Cindy, sons Steven and Jon (Tara), grandchildren Kasen and Cali, who he absolutely adored, his beloved mother-in-law Ednalee Lumsden and sister-in-law Sally Harkness.

A celebration of Dave’s life will be held at the Star Center (3873 S 66th St) in Tacoma on March 24th, at 4 p.m. The Harkness family requests that in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or The Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.