David Derence Walk, 74, of Shawnee, Oklahoma, passed away at home on Thursday, September 3, 2026, with his beloved wife, Crystal, at his side. His passing came after a sudden diagnosis and a brief, courageous battle with cancer, and though the illness was short, the life that preceded it was long, full, and lived with extraordinary heart.

He was born David Gale Tobin on February 8, 1952, in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, to Mary Alice "Dolly" (Killian) Ahrensfield and Walter John Walk. As a child he was adopted by Sergeant First Class David Derence and Pauline Gail "Mitzi" (Walk) Derence and given the name David Gale Derence. As an adult, he chose the name David Derence Walk, a name that carried with it both of the families who had shaped him, and it was as David Derence Walk that he lived the greater part of his life and was known to all who loved him.

Through all the changes of name and family in his early years, one constant remained: his grandfather, Walter Ronald "Pap Pap" Walk, who was grandfather to him by both his biological father and his adoptive mother. Pap Pap spent countless hours with David and taught him many of the life lessons he would carry with him always.

David grew up in Colonial Heights, Virginia, where he delivered newspapers as a boy and, through years of throwing them onto porches, developed an arm that could send a football as far as a grown man's. He became the star quarterback of his high school team. When his family moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, during his junior year, his Colonial Heights teammates were devastated, and the team won only three games the following season. David wore the distinction lightly, and was fond of saying, "If I had it to do over again, I would've played piano."

He went on to attend Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, where he earned his bachelor's degree in business and served as secretary of the Young Democrats Club. OBU had no football team, and so David turned his energy to music. He became a songwriter, collaborating with many other musicians and producing volumes of original work. Two of his songs found audiences far beyond the campus: he co-wrote "Chill," which was presented by Arsenio Hall and Arnold Schwarzenegger in an effort to help calm the unrest during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and he co-wrote the royalty-earning "Eretz Israel."

After two early marriages, David married the love of his life, Crystal Faye Watson, on May 13, 1982. Fittingly for two musicians, they each remembered their first meeting a little differently. David remembered seeing Crystal on stage at an OBU concert, singing and playing guitar alongside a mutual friend. Crystal remembered meeting David a couple of years later, when he was introducing that same friend's band at a local college hangout, The Grubsteak. He kissed her hand. Whichever version was true, the result was the same. They were married in Las Vegas and set off on a honeymoon that lasted four months and covered forty-two states, camping and staying with friends across the country and writing music as they went. They sang together at rest areas along the way, and David would open his guitar case for donations. Crystal does not recall that they ever collected a dime, but neither of them ever counted it as anything less than a success.

Children soon followed: Derence "Dub", Crystal Gale, Mary Darling, and Carl, along with an extraordinarily smart dog named Brownie, whom the family counted as one of their own. David worked hard his entire life to provide for his family, and he made sure their childhood was rich in adventure. He took them camping, rock hounding with the Shawnee Gem and Mineral club, led them on road trips to the great American destinations, and brought them to Oklahoma City 89ers baseball games, where he would step onto the field in uniform to sing the national anthem. He also wrote an entire series of stories for them called "Make Believe, My Children."

When Darling was in middle school, David served as Shawnee's Sister Cities chairperson and led a delegation of students on a cultural exchange to Nikaho, Japan. He also devoted many hours to helping bring about the Japanese Peace Garden in Shawnee, built as a token of the camaraderie between Shawnee and its sister city.

David served his country in the United States Army and retired at the rank of Master Sergeant, with his final duty assignment at Headquarters, State Area Command, Oklahoma Army National Guard. As an Oklahoma Army National Guard recruiter, he created and presented an innovative and deeply patriotic multimedia program featuring historical flag replicas, which he brought to high schools all across the state. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal (3rd Award), the National Defense Service Medal (2nd Award), the Humanitarian Service Medal (2nd Award), the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer's Professional Development Ribbon with Numeral 3, and the Sharpshooter Marksmanship Qualification Badge. Throughout these years he also gave generously of his time in his community, serving as a baseball coach, a Boy Scout troop leader, an Explorer Post advisor, and various callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Following his retirement from the Army, David and Crystal owned and operated a family videography and photography business for five years, during which time he also wrote a column for the Countywide & Sun newspaper called "Perspective on the Arts." He then accepted a position as Media Manager at Walla Walla Community College in Washington State, where he received multiple awards for his work, as well as serving as President of NW MET.

It was in Washington that David and Crystal joined the College Place Lions Club, beginning a chapter of service that would take them far beyond their local community. David served as President of the College Place club, then as Zone Chair, and then in several district offices. After training at the Lions Clubs International Convention in Fukuoka, Japan, he served as District Governor of District 19F, and afterward as Membership Chair on the Global Action Team for Multiple District 19. While Dave was deeply honored to receive a Melvin Jones Fellowship from the College Place Lions, he most enjoyed helping with local service projects like the annual Fishing Derby and serving dinner at the Christian Aid Center.

David was a great blend of creativity and technical know-how, a man who could write a song in the morning and troubleshoot the equipment to record it in the afternoon. He was wonderfully quirky and unconventional. He thought outside the box and colored outside the lines, and he was always willing to help and serve others. He made a difference everywhere he went.

He was an avid reader who went through two to three books a week. He read every Louis L'Amour novel ever written, loved science fiction, and later in life happily read anything that came in large print. He loved the Beatles, and on one cruise he won a trivia competition by naming every song on the list after hearing only three seconds of it. His prize was a ship on a stick, which he treasured accordingly.

Genealogy was one of his great passions, and he and Crystal traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia, including a month-long genealogy trip to Germany. They loved to cruise together, and their favorite voyages were to Alaska and through the Panama Canal. During the COVID years, when cruising was not an option, they converted their van into a camper van and traveled all over the United States instead.

After retiring the second time, David moved back to Shawnee to be near his children and grandchildren, and they became the joy of his final years. He delighted in taking them to the Oklahoma City Zoo and the Oklahoma Science Museum. With Gavin, he enjoyed hands-on projects like building a birdhouse. With Dominick, he listened in awe to his extensive knowledge of sea creatures, Pokémon, and quirks (the extraordinary abilities of the heroes in My Hero Academia.) He went to high school football games to watch Olivia play the drums, and the two of them were fiercely competitive in their games of Acey-Deucey. And he spent many happy afternoons playing with Rand at Kidspace Park.

Later in life, every song David wrote was a love song for his wife. He produced an eleven-song album of these love songs and left instructions that his family listen to it joyfully at his celebration of life.

He was a beloved son, brother, husband, father, uncle, and friend. He was a force for good.

David is survived by his wife of 44 years, Crystal Faye (Watson) Walk, of the home; his children, Derence Walter Dwaine Walk and his wife, Lily Gonzales Puyenti de Walk; Crystal Gale Walk; Mary Darling (Walk) McInturff and her husband, Steven McInturff; and Carl Dwaine Watson Walk; and his grandchildren, Dominick Hill, Gavin Watson, Olivia Faye Hill, and Rand Derence Hill. He is also survived by his brother, Keiff Walk, and his wife, Cindy, of Pennsylvania; his sister, Lauren (Derence) Milligan, and her husband, Mike, of North Carolina; his brother, Sam Derence, of Arizona, an actor who appeared in The Dark Knight; his brothers-in-law, Rocky Watson of Earlsboro, Oklahoma, and Ricky Watson and his wife, Tina, of Seminole, Oklahoma; his sister-in-law, DeCarla (Watson) Wallgren of Maud, Oklahoma; and many beloved aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews.

He was preceded in death by all his parents, SFC David Derence, Pauline Gail "Mitzi" (Walk) Derence, Walter John Walk, Mary Alice "Dolly" (Killian) Ahrensfield, father-in-law Carl Dwaine Watson, and mother-in-law Gayle Alene (Brann) Watson; his loyal canine companion, Brownie; his brother-in-law, Monty Wallgren; his sister-in-law, Lisa (Conley) Watson; and several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Visitation will take place on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM at Legacy Funeral Home (5106 N Harrison, Shawnee, OK) where friends and family are welcome to sign the guest book and pay their respects.

A celebration of life will take place on Sunday, September 27, 2026 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at the Project Heart Senior Nutrition Center (307 W. Main Street, Maud, OK)

In accordance with his wishes, his final resting place will span the locations closest to his heart. He will be interred at the Hopewell (Bethel) Cemetery on Bethel Rd, Bethel Acres, Oklahoma to wait for his wife and laid to rest with his beloved Pap Pap in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania. His children will keep part of him close, and his journey will be completed with a scattering in the Pacific Ocean on his final cruise planned with his wife.

Please do not feel any obligation to send gifts or donations. If you would like to honor Dave's memory with a tribute, living plants from Rustic Rose in Tecumseh are preferred over cut flowers, or you may make a donation to your local Lions Club or Lions Clubs International.

Arrangements are under the direction of Legacy Memorial Services (5106 N Harrison, Shawnee, OK).