David Stull

I don’t know what else to say other than I was by far the most blessed tenant in the history of 945 Parkside Place. I was in my early twenties in the mid 1980’s, roommates with a fellow world traveler that rarely were at the apt at the same time. The Stull’s quickly adopted me, I was best friends with Grandma Stull, and she would always grab my mail and update me on Mt Adams gossip. Witnessing the memorial for David this past week, I knew firsthand why everyone considered themselves a Stull child, Mr Stull was my second father, and my first father was pretty awesome. I came from a big Irish Catholic NY family, but grew up in an Italian section of Rochester NY so I gravitated to the Dave & Rita on many levels. I will share this: How nervous I was when I introduced the love of my life, Dinah, to David and Rita. David & Dinah spoke for 30 minutes uninterrupted, me nervous that her strong Catholic faith would rub him the wrong way and I was worried how they would connect. At this point, David & Rita had known me (and multiple ex girlfriends) for over 10+ years. David turned to me and said “Gosh Mark, you better marry this girl, she’s the real deal.” Like many of the people that gave beautiful testimonials at Dave’s memorial, it meant a great deal to get his seal of approval. We were married at my longtime parish Holy Cross Immaculata on St Patrick’s weekend in 2000. We moved to the historic Mansion Hill neighborhood of Newport KY the week of 9/11. David & Rita were an inspiration and we renovated our 100+ year old house and raised 5 children. We brought 4 of our children to the memorial this week. I hope they realize what a blessing it was that Dave & Rita brought me into their nest. Rex & David & Mathew: Great job! You made all of us proud. Love you Rita! Will have you over for my Mt Adams Lasagna in the new year. ❤️