David Paul Cousino was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania May 26, 1975, to Paul and Joyce Cousino. He was baptized into the family of God on July 13, 1975, at Notre Dame de Lourdes Church. David was confirmed in the spring of 1989 at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Creve Coeur, Missouri. As a child, David was admitted to the MENSA group for individuals with exceptional intelligence and proven high IQ scores.  

On July 25, 1998, he married Laurie Meyer and raised two daughters, Carolyn and Gwendolyn  who were born on March 1, 1999. On September 23, 2017, David married Sarah Shaver and although they were not blessed with human children, they raised two fur children, Chewie and  Cleo. Dave and Chewie had many quiet moments together in the hammock swinging in the  backyard together, once Chewie learned how to get into the hammock without throwing Dave on the ground.  

David was a jack of all trades working in various restaurants and industries over the years. He finally followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and went back to school at Vatterott College to learn HVAC. He spent many years in the trade always sharing that he was so proud to be doing  what his grandpa had done before him. Dave had a love of taking things apart just to see how they worked and this passion found him spending a few years at QuikTrip as a facility  technician. There were many conversations at the dinner table about magnetrons, wiring, gas dispensers (not pumps, that was incorrect), and lots of exploding soda fountain stories. We  never knew if he would come home smelling like gasoline or orange soda each day. Dave enjoyed traveling and some of his fondest memories were the places he would travel as a  child with his family, riding in the “way back” of the station wagon (when that was an allowed  thing to do), having picnic lunches and just being together. He had so many stories of his dad  snoring so loudly that the whole family was awake and learning that apple cores aren’t litter because they can feed the animals. Traveling became a lifelong goal of his. He wanted to go  places to see the sights and make memories. He spoke fondly of his trip to Gulf Shores with Gwen and the trips to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Destin, Branson, Washington DC, and always wanted to go to Yellowstone National Park. 

Dave also loved to cook. A common argument between him and Sarah was about who made the gravy correctly—Dave measured and got the ratios just perfect each time, while Sarah would just eyeball it until it came together. Gravy was the one food they could not cook together. When he had time away from work, Dave also enjoyed playing video games, a passion he passed down to Gwen. This is how we all learned you can put a computer keyboard in the  dishwasher—from eating snacks in front of it while playing games together. There were many  nights with the two of them playing games and talking to each other on headsets or on  speaker phones from separate rooms in the same house. When playing on his own, Dave especially enjoyed strategy games. Anything that he could try and find a new way to do was enjoyable for him. Whether in a game or fixing a machine, or dealing with people, he always thought he could find a better way. Dave enjoyed reading and spent time each night  before bed reading something in one of his books or on his tablet.  

Dave became a member of King of Kings in 2017 and enjoyed spending time with his small  group bible study, and always wanted to bake a new kind of pie for church’s Fall Fest each year. With his powerful voice, he became a favorite choice to read in services and his favorite readings were the ones for the holiday services. He was volun-told that he would be assisting with Sunday school for the preschoolers and promptly became known by the children as “Mrs. Cousino, the boy,” when he helped out.  

Even with his big personality, powerful voice, outward confidence and all his talents and passions, Dave also unfortunately had the awful disease of alcoholism that convinced him that  he wasn’t good enough, even though he was one of the most loving, charismatic, and all around amazing people one could meet. He went through different treatment programs and never seemed to realize how many people he was helping and lives he was able to bless with his presence alone. 

Dave was preceded in death by his father, Paul Cousino and is survived by his daughters: Gwen Cousino and Carolyn Meyer; his mother Joyce Cousino, siblings: Michelle Richardson (Jim), Mary Griffin (Adam), and Steve Cousino; 4 nieces: Audrey, Sophie, Katie, and Eleanor; and his wife Sarah Cousino. Dave was also loved and cherished by many friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. On September 12, 2023 at 3:13 PM at the age of 48, David fell asleep in the arms of our Lord.  

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Harris House Foundation so that other alcoholics and addicts can receive the treatment they need even if they are unable to afford it.