Charles David Skeen

Born November 27, 1953 in Stockton CA., Dave was unexpectedly taken from us July 29, 2020 in Sacramento, CA. 

Dave was raised in South Lake Tahoe until he was 16, when his family moved to Sacramento. He always longed to return to live in his favorite place and was blessed to be able to move back to beautiful Lake Tahoe in 2017. 

Dave is survived by Cathy, the love of his life and wife of 45 years, daughter Brooke Skeen (Danny Ramirez), son Bradley Skeen (Paola Hurtado Skeen), and grandchildren Tomás, Ella, Lola, and Lane.  Dave was preceded in death by his parents, Lloyd and Joyce Skeen and brother Lloyd Alan.  He leaves behind sisters, Ila Destfino (Robert) and Trish Stauffer (Bob), brothers and sister-in-law, Greg Mulligan (Sandra), Scott Mulligan, Chris Mulligan (Janet), Nancy Gomes (Tim), along with numerous nieces and nephews, and a four-legged best friend, Roscoe.

Dave retired from Marie’s Quality Foods in 1998 and he spent the next 22 years taking meticulous care of his homes in Sacramento and Lake Tahoe and reading the owner manuals (cover to cover) of the family’s vehicles.  As a family friend described it, he often used nothing but the power of twine and muttering to himself - but Dave was capable of building, fixing, and fine-tuning anything.  He had the right tools to fix everything and he knew precisely where in his garage each one of those tools was.  A doting family man, Dave always sacrificed his own needs to take care of those around him.  Whether it was working on his kids’ cars and houses, facetiming with his niece to help with her broken furnace, or taking care of Aunt Peg’s honey-do list, this was how Dave showed his love and he could never say no.  Dave was so full of love and generosity for everyone he encountered. 

In 1975, he married the love of his life, Cathy.  They spent the next 45 years as best friends and each other’s better halves.  The Army took Dave & Cathy to Ft. Leonard Wood, MO for four years, after which they returned to Sacramento to start a family and raise their children.  Dave inherited his father’s 1952 Willie’s Jeep and the family’s many adventures in Tahoe with that Jeep instilled in his children a love of all things outdoors.  Whenever Cathy was ready for a vacation to an exotic locale or for a quick trip with their truck and trailer, Dave was ready to accompany her anywhere and at a moment’s notice.  Whenever Cathy had an event or a party to attend, Dave was always by her side.  His wife and his family were everything to him.  Whether it was hunting for golf balls with his grandson, Tomás, or playfully pretending with the girls that he was the Pope, the love of his family was undeniably what drove him.

For such a quiet man with a calm demeanor, Dave had a presence that was larger than life.  To know him was to love him.  It is difficult for us to imagine a world without him in it.