A Celebration of His Life and Legacy
(see below for a letter from Dave)
Saturday, September 12, 2026 · 7 – 9 PM
Christ Community Church – Harpeth House Fellowship Hall
1215 Hillsboro Road, Franklin, TN
(Look for the single-story Harpeth House on the north side of the campus.)
Over the past two years, Dave has been living with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), a progressive neurological disease that affects thinking, movement, sleep, and daily functioning. While every person’s journey with LBD is different, Dave’s symptoms have increased significantly in recent months, requiring ongoing care and specialized treatment.
As many of you know, Dave has spent his life pouring into others. We would love the opportunity to pour back into him.
This evening will be an opportunity for friends, former students, fellow artists, musicians, pastors, and family members to gather and celebrate Dave’s remarkable life and ministry.
The Evening Will Include
Reflections with Dave’s on his life and legacy
Music from friends who have shared the journey with him
A photo retrospective
An open mic for those who would like to briefly share how Dave has impacted their lives
Information about Dave’s newest book, which will be available for purchase
A chance to encourage Dave and Kathy personally
Most importantly, we simply want Dave and Kathy to experience what they have given to so many others over the years — love, gratitude, encouragement, and community.
From Dave:
Over five years ago, Kathy and I traveled to Fort Wayne for a Christmas visit with family (we’re holiday people, all of us), and partway through, it became clear something was wrong. My balance was off. My memory wasn’t holding onto things the way it should. We had to leave the party early. It was confusing and painful.
We came home to Chicago, and travel of any kind has been hard ever since. What began as one strange evening became a slow unraveling — as if certain moments simply weren’t being kept anymore, as if my mind couldn’t hold onto them.
Over the next five years, Kathy and I made more trips to hospitals and emergency rooms than I can count. Walking into a hospital, you’re really just hoping someone can name what’s happening to you — and each answer came slowly, and at real financial cost. Eventually, we had one: Lewy Body Dementia, a progressive brain disorder in which abnormal protein deposits called Lewy bodies build up in nerve cells, affecting thinking, movement, mood, and behavior. It’s one of the more common forms of dementia, usually beginning after age 50, and more than a million Americans live with it. Visual hallucinations are common, often early on. From diagnosis, people typically live five to eight years — sometimes as few as two, sometimes as many as twenty. It depends on the person.
For Kathy and me, Lewy Body Dementia is now a daily companion. The symptoms shift and flare in ways that are hard to predict, and some days the only real option is to check into a clinic and see what they find. Places like the Cleveland Clinic and the Lewy Body Dementia Center in Chicago have been central to piecing this together. But it’s slow, and it isn’t cheap. It adds up, week after week.
We’re at the point now where we need to ask for help — for encouragement, and for support as we face what Lewy Body Dementia continues to bring. On September 12, we’re gathering with friends in Nashville to take that next step together and to launch a GoFundMe page.
Please pray for us as we walk this path. It has been a painful journey, to say the least.
— David
If you missed our conversations with David on the True Tunes Podcast, check them out here:
Artist Care Encounter with David Bunker
(Give to the GoFundMe Here)
A Celebration of His Life and Legacy
(see below for a letter from Dave)
Saturday, September 12, 2026 · 7 – 9 PM
Christ Community Church – Harpeth House Fellowship Hall
1215 Hillsboro Road, Franklin, TN
(Look for the single-story Harpeth House on the north side of the campus.)
Over the past two years, Dave has been living with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), a progressive neurological disease that affects thinking, movement, sleep, and daily functioning. While every person’s journey with LBD is different, Dave’s symptoms have increased significantly in recent months, requiring ongoing care and specialized treatment.
As many of you know, Dave has spent his life pouring into others. We would love the opportunity to pour back into him.
This evening will be an opportunity for friends, former students, fellow artists, musicians, pastors, and family members to gather and celebrate Dave’s remarkable life and ministry.
The Evening Will Include
Most importantly, we simply want Dave and Kathy to experience what they have given to so many others over the years — love, gratitude, encouragement, and community.
From Dave:
Over five years ago, Kathy and I traveled to Fort Wayne for a Christmas visit with family (we’re holiday people, all of us), and partway through, it became clear something was wrong. My balance was off. My memory wasn’t holding onto things the way it should. We had to leave the party early. It was confusing and painful.
We came home to Chicago, and travel of any kind has been hard ever since. What began as one strange evening became a slow unraveling — as if certain moments simply weren’t being kept anymore, as if my mind couldn’t hold onto them.
Over the next five years, Kathy and I made more trips to hospitals and emergency rooms than I can count. Walking into a hospital, you’re really just hoping someone can name what’s happening to you — and each answer came slowly, and at real financial cost. Eventually, we had one: Lewy Body Dementia, a progressive brain disorder in which abnormal protein deposits called Lewy bodies build up in nerve cells, affecting thinking, movement, mood, and behavior. It’s one of the more common forms of dementia, usually beginning after age 50, and more than a million Americans live with it. Visual hallucinations are common, often early on. From diagnosis, people typically live five to eight years — sometimes as few as two, sometimes as many as twenty. It depends on the person.
For Kathy and me, Lewy Body Dementia is now a daily companion. The symptoms shift and flare in ways that are hard to predict, and some days the only real option is to check into a clinic and see what they find. Places like the Cleveland Clinic and the Lewy Body Dementia Center in Chicago have been central to piecing this together. But it’s slow, and it isn’t cheap. It adds up, week after week.
We’re at the point now where we need to ask for help — for encouragement, and for support as we face what Lewy Body Dementia continues to bring. On September 12, we’re gathering with friends in Nashville to take that next step together and to launch a GoFundMe page.
Please pray for us as we walk this path. It has been a painful journey, to say the least.
— David
If you missed our conversations with David on the True Tunes Podcast, check them out here:
Portrait of Dave Bunker by Ray Ware
Details
Venue
Franklin, TN United States + Google Map