Ernest David Sadler, 74, of Canyon, TX formerly of Sunnyside, TX passed away on Monday, February 10, 2020 in Amarillo. Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 2:00PM in the Colonial Funeral Home Chapel with Bobby Medford officiating. The family will receive friends on Friday evening from 5:00PM-7:00PM at the funeral home. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Colonial Funeral Home of Dimmitt. Ernest David Sadler was born on July 3, 1945 in Littlefield, TX to Lawrence Ezell Sadler and Verba Mae (Loudder) Sadler. He and his siblings helped on the family farm and also attended school in Dimmitt, TX. In 9th grade, David decided to spend time custom harvesting all the way up to Canada and back for two summers. He was working as an attendant at a gas station when he met his future wife. After months of courting and seeking the approval for her hand in marriage from Jake King, he married the love of his life Norma Gay King of Hereford, TX on February 12, 1966, in Hereford, where he also held a job with the Texas Highway Department. In 1968, he transferred with the highway department to Lubbock and enjoyed the blessing of a growing family, welcoming the birth of their daughters, Melody and Karla. He also worked as a night-watchman for Time Freight Company on the weekends. In 1974 he moved his family back to Sunnyside to help his brother Larry farm the family land. In 1981 the family moved to Hobbs, NM where he worked as a mechanic for New Mex Construction. When New Mex Construction closed he took a job as a driver for Turner Trucker, establishing a brotherly bond lifetime friendship with JC Turner and his wife Donna. In 1991 he and Gay moved back to Sunnyside where he worked at Sunnyside farm store, Dimmitt wheat growers from 95-98, helped his brother with feed troughs, a night watchman for Littlefield feed yard, mowed yards, maintained Sunnyside Baptist Church, where he was a lifelong member. Later, helping his siblings take care of their parents, most often in Breckenridge at the family lake house. After the passing of Ezell and Verba, David relocated to Hereford with Gay and continued helping care for his mother-in-law. He was back and forth between Melody and Karla's residences in Hobbs and Abilene respectively, during his life, making a spur of the moment trip to help them with projects, often providing "on the job training" for whatever they needed his knowledge on. While at the lake he became quit the chef while cooking for his parents, earning the nickname Ratatouille, shortened to Uncle Tuey. He and his brother Larry taught their children, cousins and friends how to water ski. The two brothers are known for not only their work ethic, but also for having a competition stomping an ant bed and taking aim with a gun, playing with tarantulas with their cousins, taking off from the dock to water ski, being boat drivers at reunions, and taking the kids sledding on the hood of a car in the pasture after it snowed. David and Gay, known as Papa and Grandma took grandkids, babysitting kids, nieces and nephews on numerous, fun and adventurous trips to water and amusement parks, zoos, fairs, and other memorable locations. He would do anything for anyone, but especially for his girls and it pleased him immensely to be able to help them and show them how to do things, whether plumbing in the house or sprinklers, electrical, or construction and outlandish ideas to repurpose stuff. David is survived by his wife, Gay Sadler of Canyon, TX, 2 daughters, Melody Roye and husband Walter of Hobbs, NM and Karla Sadler and partner Tammy Sarhani of Abilene, TX, 6 grandchildren, Shaina Roye and fiancé Zadoc Campbell, Samuel Roye and wife Bekah, Spenser Roye, Shyann Roye, Shaeli Roye and Jennifer Sanders, 11 great-grandchildren, Jada, Emery, Jericho, Maddox, Jhulius, Asher, Jharius, Skyylar, Jaylece, Layson, and Zoey, sister, Patricia Powell and husband James of Canadian, TX, brother, Larry Sadler and wife Sharon of Dimmitt, TX, numerous nieces and nephews including close family friends, Sam and Treylr Jackson, J.C. Turner, Louise and Richard Armstrong. David is preceded in death by his parents, Ezell and Verba Sadler, in-laws, Jake and Ruth King, great-grandson Hunter Roye, nephew Clayton Johnson, Tammy and Rexee Jo Jackson, Donna Turner, and other family members, including grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.
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