Army Chief Warrant Officer Theodore Church
August 6, 2023
Marine LCPL Kevin Cornelius
August 20, 2023
Condolences from Legacy.com
…David, my sister Heather and I all grew up together. He was basically our big brother. Wherever David went i had to be, whatever David was doing i had to do it too. I idolized David, he was my role model. He gave me good advice, he helped me do homework, he helped me in any difficult situation. I will never forget any of the times we had together. Playing ghost in the grave yard, him and Branden climbing on the roof in masks to scare me and my friend, all the times in the swimming pool, playing super Nintendo, when he took me to a UT party with him, riding bikes…One last thing….in David’s words “Ashtashlada!!” ~ Kelly Tillman (Christoff), Maumee, Ohio
To the family of David Christoff, I had the honor of serving as David’s Platoon Commander when he first joined 1/3. I watched him grow from a PFC to possibly the Company’s top squad leader in Fallujah. Professionally, my biggest dilemma with David was that his abilities forced me to routinely put him in charge of Marines that were senior to him. Personally, I will never forget him. He was in a class by himself. Thank you to his parents for raising such a great young man. I learned more about leadership from watching David than I ever learned from any school. His family can hopefully take some solace in the knowledge that had it not been for their son’s leadership in Fallujah, we would have lost many more Marines than we did. My heart goes out to them. ~ Captain Robert Merrill, Cambridge, Massachusetts
I was saddened upon receiving the news of David’s passing. I didn’t know what to think at first, but now a couple days have gone by and now I’m ready to share. David was a true and genuine person, enjoyed helping and giving. It reminds me of the days after school in the 8th grade when I couldn’t understand my algebra homework he would help me understand it until I didn’t want to see another linear equation. There were the fun times we had together too in our neighborhood just growing up. Playing basketball, building snow forts on snow days, and my earliest memory was being stuck out in the mud together. I was stuck first and then, in trying to get me out he ended up getting stuck himself. I remember how dedicated David was to everything he did, especially golf. He would be out into the night hitting golf balls into this green tent like thing…~ Courtney Murphy-MacCanon (SHS c/o 1998) Springfield (now Cleveland , Ohio)
