Snowshoe Mountain’s Dave Dekema Passes Suddenly Overnight

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R.I.P. Dave Dekema…

We were shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Dave Dekema overnight. Details are still forthcoming, but from the sound of things David was visiting with his girlfriend in Staunton, Virginia and passed away unexpectedly. (Presumably a heart attack although that has not been confirmed.)

Sean Cassell who serves as a PR Specialist at Snowshoe Mountain shared this statement moments ago:

“Thanks for reaching out Mike. We are certainly still in shock here this morning. Here is our official word, please feel free to share:

In regards to the unexpected passing of Snowshoe Mountain’s VP of Marketing & Lodging, David Dekema, the Resort’s President & COO Frank DeBerry released the following statement:

“Dave loved Snowshoe, and his passion for our mountain and it’s people was something I will cherish forever. His leadership, enthusiasm, and ideas were instrumental to our recent growth and for the emotionally-inspiring, yet fun and easy-going brand that Snowshoe has become. We will miss his smiles as well as his talents. Beyond his contributions to us all, I for one have lost a friend and I know many of you feel the same way.”

More information about memorial arrangements are forthcoming.

 

dave dekema of snowshoe mountain passes suddenly
Dave ALWAYS wore a smile and was just “one of the good guys”. We all miss you Dave! (Click to Enlarge image)

Dave was an awesome friend to those of us here at SkiSoutheast.com. He was always upbeat and a pleasure to work with. He always went out of his way to make me, my team and all who participated in SkiSoutheast/Snowshoe Summit – feel very special and appreciated.

I came to know Dave five or so years ago when he first came to Snowshoe from Angel Fire Resort in New Mexico to serve in his new position at Snowshoe. Prior to joining Snowshoe, he had served as Director of Marketing there for nearly eight years. He and I immediately hit it off because of his real appreciation for what LIVE, streaming webcams could do for promoting a ski resort. He was surprised to hear of our involvement in that industry as well as how popular SkiSoutheast.com was in the region.

Our mutual admiration came also from the fact that we were also involved in the industry of web design as he also served for nearly seven years (1997-2004) with AOL as a Director & VP of Brand Marketing.

So we always saw eye-to-eye on how internet marketing synergies can be created and grown.

I certainly appreciated his intelligence, quick wit and youthful vigor. Dave had just turned 50 years old in July.

You can see more about Dave and some of the comments already being shared on his Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/dekema

You can see what kind of guy Dave was by the wonderful comments already being shared and by the sweet sentiments of his mother, Patricia Dekema.

I’ll close by just saying that Dave’s family is in our prayers, as is the entire Snowshoe family for your sudden loss. R.I.P. Dave!

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