David Aaron Hackwith, 78, of Cheney, Wash., passed away Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, in Spokane.
He was born April 6, 1943, in Winchester to Keith and Florence Hackwith. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his son, Clint Prather, and sister Hazel Lenore Hackwith.
David “Dave” graduated from Craigmont High School in 1961. Music was a big part of Dave’s life, playing piano backup for his dad and friends at area dances when he was young. He played sousaphone in the school band, and he continued that by playing sousaphone in the U.S. Army Band after graduation. He played in the Army Band stationed in Germany, playing for President Kennedy. He learned to play other instruments, including the upright bass, guitar, mandolin and fiddle.
After Dave was honorably discharged from the Army, he returned to Craigmont, and attended Spokane Community College learning the auto body and fender repair trade. He then worked at different locations in his career including Oroville, Cheney and Spokane. Dave was well liked by all his employers.
In 1981, he met Gloria Prather, and they were married in March 1982. He also became a dad to Chuck and Clint Prather. Dave loved family, and loved being a father. Clint later lost his life in Afghanistan in 2005. Dave and Gloria were part of the Gold Star Family in Washington, and they attended Windy 25 Memorial in Las Vegas most every year, a memorial fund to “celebrate the lives of our military’s fallen heroes” a tribute to fallen heroes, including Clint Prather, of Windy25 flight in Afghanistan.
Dave loved music. He was well known in the Pacific Northwest for playing bass fiddle. He played for several different bands and groups throughout the years. He was the only bass player in the long standing band, Custer’s Grass Band, one of the earliest bluegrass bands in the Northwest. Later, he became the bass player for Prairie Flyer and Bluestreak, to name a few. He helped and played with the Old Time Fiddlers in Spokane. He loved to attend and play at the Bluegrass Festivals throughout the Northwest. He and Gloria volunteered at the Blue Waters Bluegrass Festival in Medical Lake for many years.
He is survived by his wife, Gloria; son Chuck (Brittany) Prather; daughter-in-law Irene; grandchildren Summer Prather (Ashton Tanzer), Carter Shurbutt, Aaron Prather (Anna Deegan) and Cheyenne Prather; sister Lois Mulkey; brothers Tom (Bev) Hackwith and Denis (Kris) Hackwith; and several nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life with lots of music will be in a few months.
