Obituary of David J. Van Damme

David VanDamme, beloved Husband, Father and Grandfather, passed away Sunday, February 18, 2024, peacefully, surrounded by his family at Strong Memorial hospital after a tough battle with complications following heart surgery. His loving nurses on 4-1600 attended to all of his needs for multiple weeks. We are so grateful for the care he received from them and the amazing palliative care team on 4-1200. Dave is survived by his wife, Kristine Bohnke; daughter, Julie (Clyde) Ridgeway of Summerville, SC; son, Jeffrey of NYC; and stepson, Jake De Fisher of Farmington; brothers, Bob (Jean) VanDamme, Jerry VanDamme, and Bill (Pat) VanDamme. Dave is also survived by the mother of his children, Debra (Dan) Speers; several nephews and nieces and plenty of "extra daughters". He cherished the role of grandfather to his two grandchildren, Megan and Preston Ridgeway. They were both the joy of his life and made him very proud. He was predeceased by his parents, Edward and Francis (Muzz) VanDamme; brothers, Edward and Jim VanDamme and nephew, Brett VanDamme. Dave was a graduate of Canandaigua Academy class of 1970. He grew up and lived in Canandaigua for many years before moving to Macedon. He attended Alfred University and spent most of his career working as an engineer at Xerox. Dave was always the life of the party, and he proudly wore this badge of honor. He enjoyed every ounce of life and loved to be outside sitting in the sun, golfing, boating and having an adult beverage and a cigar. It's hard to find a picture of him not giving a goofy pose/smile as he had a hard time being serious. He was huge Buffalo Bills and New York Yankees fan all of his life and enjoyed watching and cheering on his teams. Friends may call Thursday, February 22, from 3-5pm at Fuller Funeral Home, Inc. 190 Buffalo St. Canandaigua. A brief memorial service immediately will follow the visitation. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a collective gift for Strong Memorial Hospital’s Palliative Care Unit and unit 4-1600 that took such amazing care of Dave. We would like to donate a doppler ultrasound for the unit and a finger print keepsake system for families to collect their loved one’s heartbeat sounds and fingerprints to memorialize these treasures that will live on for generations to come. If there are any additional funds left, we will donate parking passes for family members to use. Thank you in advance for your generosity. https://venmo.com/code?user_id=2115607659020288683 To share a memory or express condolences online please visit www.fullerfh.com