Earl David Gorrell was born April 30, 1923 in Independence, Kansas as the second son of Harry David Gorrell and Nellie Davidson Gorrell. He graduated Independence High School and then served in the United States Army during World War II. He spent several years overseas in Scotland and Germany where dad was a gunner on a tank. He served General Patton and his tank battalions as they crossed the Rhine River into Germany in February 1945.



He married Mary Belle Jenkins in Wichita, Kansas after completing his military service. She preceded him in death on January 2, 1948.



He graduated Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas in 1948. While there he met and fell in love with the love of his life, June Sorensen Gorrell. David and June were married in Topeka, Kansas on October 16, 1948. They were married 61 years until her death on December 30, 2009



David worked for many years as an accountant with Sinclair Pipeline Company in Independence, Kansas. But the job he really loved he began later in his life when he served the Kansas courts as an alcohol counselor with the Southeast Kansas Alcohol Safety Action Program.



David served in his church wherever he lived. While in Neodesha, Kansas he served the First United Methodist church as a deacon, usher, Sunday school teacher, MYF leader and lay reader. At the First United Methodist Church in Independence, Kansas he served also as a deacon, usher, lay leader and finance chairman. While at Kirk of the Hills in Tulsa he served as an elder, lay reader, and as an usher.



David will always be remembered as "The Candy Man." He made many a child's day (and their mother's day) with a Werthers candy which always filled his pockets.



David passed into the presence of His Lord and Savior on November 29, 2018



David is survived by four children, 13 grandchildren, and 35 great grandchildren.

David's ashes will be buried at Memorial Cemetery in Independence, Kansas.