October 29, 2001

Monday, October 29, 2001

Email from Lance A. Gyorfi

Chevron Operations Manager - Salt Lake Refinery

“Just a heads up.  Dave Moss at our Salt Lake Refinery passed away today on the job.  Massive heart attack in his office.  He was 44 years old and not only our OE champion but also a favored "mustang" for Area Supervisor and eventually Operations Manager for Salt Lake.”

Just after lunch, Dave was sitting in Greg Gable's office on a chair across from Greg's desk with his legs propped up and they were talking and laughing.  They had eaten lunch together and Greg was giving him some information because Dave was supposed to cover for him while he went on vacation.  He was his usual self, laughing and joking.  Then Dave coughed and slumped over in his chair.  Greg waited a minute then asked him if he was ok.  When Dave didn't respond, he went around to him and held him up.  Dave was breathing at this time.  Someone else walked by the door and joked to Dave that it wasn't time to take a nap, and Greg told him there was something wrong.  So the other fellow came into the room.  They called the paramedics at Chevron when they found that they couldn't wake him by slapping his face and arms, etc.  He stopped breathing so they felt for a pulse, and as they touched his neck he seemed to revive and begin breathing again.  He was unconscious at this time.  He never said anything.  He didn't act like he was aware of what was going on and he didn't seem to exhibit any kind of pain.  He stopped breathing again and they again felt for a pulse and he started breathing again.  When he stopped breathing altogether, they laid him out on the floor.  About this same time the Chevron paramedics arrived and they started CPR on him.  When he didn't start breathing and they didn't get a heartbeat, they decided to use the defibrillator.  They tried this maybe 2-3 times and never got a heartbeat.  

The Salt Lake City Fire Department Paramedics arrived and as the Chevron men continued the CPR, they checked him out and asked questions.  Then the SLC paramedics got their defibrillator out and hooked it up.  They shocked him and at that time, they thought they had a pulse.  So they said, OK let's take him to the hospital.  They apparently lost the heartbeat again during the trip to the hospital and as they arrived at the LDS Emergency Room entrance performed CPR on him all the way into the building.  Fred stood outside the hospital and saw the ambulance arrive and watched them wheel Dave into the hospital.

 

Earlier I had received a phone call from Jeff  Riddle (from the refinery) telling me that Dave had an issue at work and that he had been taken to the hospital.  After some prodding from me, Jeff told me that Dave was unconscious when he left the refinery.  I was with Jedd at a doctor appointment.  I called Lynn and told him what had happened.  He was on his way home from school at Weber and met me at the doctor's office.  We went directly to the hospital.  Michelle was still in school at the Jr. High.

When we arrived at the hospital, there were many Chevron employees I recognized in the hallways.  They had solemn looks on their faces.  We were taken into a waiting room for families.  As we walked in the room, we looked at Fred whose face said it all.  "Didn't they tell you? Dave died!" 

Much of the rest is a blur.  Suffice it to say that we were told that he died of a heart attack but they would be doing an autopsy to determine the cause.  Not more than about 5 years earlier, Lynn had done his Eagle Scout Project on Organ Donation.  Dave said he wanted his organs to be donated when he died.  When the medical staff asked us whether we had considered organ donation, I said, "Yes, that is what he wanted."  They were only able to use his bones, tissue and eyes, as he had been gone too long to use the organs.  He had been a bone donor recipient when he had his eye surgery some 20+ years earlier, now he was giving back.

I didn't get the results of the autopsy until December.  The death certificate states that he died of natural causes due to a cardiac rhythm disturbance and cardiovascular anomalies. I talked to the doctor who performed the autopsy.  She told me he died from arrhythmia. There was some blockage, and some scar tissue in his heart, but not enough to have caused his death.  There was no evidence of a heart attack.  All of the little abnormalities must have come together to cause his heart to stop.  Dave had every opportunity for his heart to be brought back to rhythm or for it to start beating.  There were trained personnel with him immediately performing CPR.  They did everything right.

Dave's funeral lasted over 2 1/2 hours.  So many people came to pay their respects to him and to the family.  The church was filled clear back to the Relief Society room.  The speakers made us laugh and then cry recalling stories about Dave.  It was a beautiful tribute.

The day after Christmas of 2002 was a special day for us as we were able to be sealed as a family in the Salt Lake Temple.  It was so wonderful to be in the sealing room after the sealing, with our arms around each other and to be an eternal family.  I wanted Dave's kids to be sealed to him and I wanted him to be sealed to his children because he loved them so much.  I also wanted to be sealed to him because I loved him.

Dave always made sure that he took our family on a family vacation every summer even if it was just a weekend camping in the mountains.  He did this from the time the kids were little.  He made sure we put aside money for that purpose because he felt that it was important.  We went to California to the beach three times, and separate trips to Disneyland, Knottsberry Farm and Universal Studios, San Diego Zoo and Sea World.  We went to Yellowstone, Flaming Gorge, and camping in the Uinta Mountains or Redman Campground.  He even took Michelle on a special vacation to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone the summer before he died because she hadn't gone with the family the first time we went.  He took the boys fishing in Montana several times and deer and elk hunting.  He didn't necessarily enjoy camping (he probably would have rather stayed home to golf that weekend) but he knew the kids loved to camp and I loved it.  He went on scout campouts with both Lynn and Jedd doing such activities as backpacking into Death Hollow and canoeing the Snake River.  Time with his kids was important to Dave and whatever the activity on the vacation, he was right in there doing it with the kids whether it was boogie boarding in the ocean or riding the wild rides at Magic Mountain.

He worked hard and he played hard.  He worked hard to provide his children with a nice home and opportunities and experiences to develop character.  He taught us to work.  He taught us about integrity and honesty.  He taught us about respect.  These are all valuable principles.  He was proud of his accomplishments and of his kid's accomplishments.  I think he would be proud of his family today.

Gina recalled a special experience.  She said, "One time at Lake Powell when I was all alone floating around I felt him with me.  I didn't see him but I talked to him as if he were right there.  I could just feel his answers. He was concerned about his children.  He really is watching over you and is very proud of you.  I hope you never doubt how very much he loves you."