It is with great sadness that we must report on the passing of a national treasure in David Frank Mahan who passed away on October 6th 2024 at age 64. He had been missing from instagram for several months and the Vermont state website recently confirmed his passing.
David was the last person in his family alive so we don’t know if an official obituary will be posted, but felt he deserved to be remembered.
David was a character. On a platform that’s know for materialism and looks, David would post on instagram with BBQ sauce all over his face, bed head, and for some reason wearing a hospital gown at home. I guess he thought it was comfortable and took a few with him. He was the real deal. On a platform filled with fakeness we had David who was as genuine as it gets. He never cared what anyone thought, he gave us daily updates about what was going on in his life and held nothing back. He loved his New England sports teams, when they lost he would come on and say “Today was a horrible day for me personally” and when they won he would have a smile on his face from ear to ear. Ironically his final post was to the song “It’s a Heartache” by Rod Stewart after a Red Sox loss.
After checking this post for updates many times I will always think of David when I hear that song.
For every Bruins game he would make his special meal “Hockey Night Linguini with Makeshift Garlic-bread”. I always enjoyed his tutorials showing us how to make it, Microwaving the noodles for exactly 14 minutes and 55 seconds. He would say “Now I know that’s an odd number for the microwave, but thats the amount of time I find cooks the noodles just right”.
But sports weren’t the only thing David loved. David loved Hooters. He would frequently take road trips to Hooters restaurants in the New England area, his favorite being Hooters of Saugus. Most of the time he would get some wings, a build your own burger, and a Budweiser to wash it all down with. With ever trip to Hooters he came away with a selfie with his waitress that he would share with us, and usually a few stories.
Every trip included a tour of his motel room and he never left out showing us his CPAP Machine. I can still hear his voice saying “There’s my CPAP Machine” as he went around the room showing us the bed, the bathroom, and the mini-fridge. Again the contrast between the typical instagram user showing off their overly expensive vacation and David giving us a tour of his cheap motel room in upstate New York like he enjoyed it just as much was what made him special.
When David wasn’t watching sports or off on one of his adventures it was Cheaters marathons and old time TV on the Hero’s & Icons channel. He would always share his favorite parts of the shows with us and give us unfiltered commentary.
Nearly 20,000 people followed David on instagram including famous comedian Tim Robinson. I once sent David a message to let him know he had a famous follower and he didn’t seem to care that much but I thought it was cool.
After retiring from being a Vermont taxi cab driver. David would talk often about how his time in his apartment could be lonesome, his family had all passed away, he would often talk about his “divorced brother Jimmy”, his sister Mary, and his Mom and Dad and how he missed them. So I take solace knowing he is reunited with the people he cared about most.
Despite living alone David has a lot of people who cared about him. People were always dropping off food for him on holidays, and when he disappeared from Instagram on September 9th, you could see how many people in the comments were worried and saddened to realize he might be gone.
He left his mark on the world in his own way.
Your friends and your followers will miss you old buddy.
I haven’t been able to find any information on a funeral or official obituary and I don’t know if he will have one, but in lieu of flowers a trip to your local Hooters for some wings, and build your own burger and a nice cold Budweiser will do.
Rest in peace David!
