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David Allen Gross, 68, passed away at his home in Olympia, Washington, on June 21, 2026, Father’s Day.
David was born in Santa Monica but grew up in Orange County, California, although many summers were spent with his father and family in Camarillo, California. His parents divorced when he was 3. He attended Fullerton Union High School and graduated with honors in 1976. While in high school, he excelled in wood shop, metal shop and art courses, often serving as a teacher’s assistant in those subjects. He briefly attended Fullerton Junior College and later completed the requirements to become a journeyman flooring and tile installation specialist.
In high school, while living at a popular house on Leland Drive in Fullerton with his mother and sister, David created unique and beautiful jewelry, wood furniture and metal sculptures, which he sold independently. After high school, he was employed building sets for live theater productions. Later, he used his perfectionistic talent to install flooring and tile in houses and businesses throughout Southern California. At one point, he held a DOJ secret clearance to install flooring in restricted buildings.
In 1980, at age 23, David purchased land in Olympia, Washington, but did not move there to build a house until 1992. He married Victoria Wacker in 1985, and they bought a house in Corona, California. After the marriage began to dissolve in 1992, David sold his Corona house, moved to Olympia and constructed one of the earliest houses in the Lake Lucinda community. He continued to work in Washington as a flooring and tile installer and later as an interior finisher.
In 2018, after sustaining severe injuries, David retired but stayed active doing woodworking, oil painting, stone and cement projects, and projects to maintain his house. He was compassionate and generous and loved to mentor people in need. His best friend, Dan Halbrick, learned flooring and tiling skills from David at age 15.
He is dearly missed by his sisters, Theresa Chaque and Devon Holzer; brother, Donny Gross; and ex-wife, Victoria Gross. He is survived by his daughter, Marissa Rogers of Chehalis, and his father and stepmother, Don and Dolores Gross. His beloved mother, Barbara (Jones, Gross) Ramondino, passed away suddenly in 2004 and was greatly missed.
A memorial and celebration of David’s life will be held in Southern California at a later date. David’s ashes will be interred alongside his mother’s ashes at a location to be determined in Southern California.
