David Robert Frank Volker

David Robert Frank Volker

January 8, 1980-April 5, 2025

Dave was born January 8, 1980 in Red Deer Alberta to Don & Roberta Volker of Delburne, Alberta and passed away April 5, 2025 in Falun, Alberta.

David leaves to mourn his wife Amy; sons Wyatt and Westyn; his dogs Deuce & Trace; right hand man and friend Jeff Stout (Jesse); mother Roberta; sisters Marie (Greg), Brenda (Steve) and Alesha; brother and sisters-in-law Holly & Troy, Kyley, Ian & Laura, Gerald; mother-in-law Carroll; father-in-law Ron; bonus mom-in-law Patti; close friend and neighbour Gramma Chris; nephews Austin (Morgan), Denton, Dalton, Cassidy (Madison), Colby, Jackson, Tantyn, Nashton, Grayson and Ronson; nieces Baylee (Robert), Kelsey, Mackenzie, Adrianne, Nova and Briar; 2 great-nephews, 2 great-nieces and a few great friends.

The youngest of four children, Dave was raised on the family farm near Delburne, Alberta. David was born an animal lover and true horseman. He spent all of his time outside with his dogs and was always with the horses. His older sisters remember he was fearless, climbing under and on the horses whenever he could get out to the barn. Dave was born with a true gift for working with horses and possessed an amazing ability to convince his pony to do whatever he wanted by teaching Smoky Joe to do tricks.

As Dave got older he diligently cultivated his gift into a real talent and was starting colts by the time he was 12 years old. In addition to his talent for training horses he was also a talented roper that spent countless hours practising on and off the horse. It was very rare to spot Dave without his boots and a rope and his love of practising that swing made it impossible for anyone to be within reach and not get tripped up in a perfectly executed heel loop.

Dave attended high school in Stettler where he developed a love and appreciation for welding and teenage mischief. If there was any silliness going on there was a strong possibility that Dave was in the center of it.

Dave was an active member of the rodeo community throughout his teens and early 20’s competing in Tie Down Roping, Team Roping and Bull Riding in various associations and clubs. By the time he graduated he hung up his bull rope and turned 100% of his focus to the timed event end of the arena and started building solid roping and ranch horses as a means to support his love for rodeo.

In addition to rodeo and horses, Dave discovered a passion and appreciation for cattle and set out to learn everything he could about cows, feeder cattle and the beef industry. Dave's desire to learn and natural ability to read cattle paired with his talent as a horse trainer and his appreciation of a good stock dog was a recipe that created opportunities for Dave to set out and work in various feedlots, and cow calf operations as a herdsmen.  

Dave met the love of his life, Amy, at a rodeo in June 2005 and by August that same year he determined that she was handy enough with a horse to keep around. Dave and Amy started their life together riding horses, teaching lessons, and living life to the fullest. They welcomed their first child Wyatt, aka Spook, on October 31, 2006 and Dave was overjoyed to have his own little cowboy to mentor and share his love and appreciation for animals with. Much to Amy’s dismay and Dave’s delight, Wyatt inherited his dad’s love for cowboy boots, and swinging a rope and by the time he started to walk Amy had to constantly be aware of her surroundings as she was now dodging 2 loops being tossed at her feet, often at the same time and from different directions.

In April 2011, Dave, Amy and Wyatt joyfully welcomed little brother Jeremiah, aka Bubba-Louie, to the family and then mourned his death later that same day. When little peanut Westyn came along in April 2014, Dave and Amy were overjoyed at the safe arrival of their third child and miracle baby.

Shortly after Westyn’s arrival, Dave and Amy moved their family into the Thorsby/Pigeon Lake area where Dave continued to work as herdsmen for different cattle outfits while turning out solid rope and ranch horses and expanding his ability to develop good cow dogs.

If Dave wasn’t busy working he was busy playing with his boys. Together they found all sorts of ways to get into mischief and with three sets of cowboy boots on the ground and a third rope swinging cowboy added to the mix the fun and laughter were always endless. Dave loved taking his boys out to help him do a little ranchin’ whenever possible and took every opportunity he could to take the horses and his family to the mountains. He was immensely proud of the young man Wyatt was becoming and lived for his daily dose of 'Westyn Wisdom'.

In recent weeks Dave spent countless hours in the freshly remodeled show barn helping the “4-H herd” work with their Steers between cow checks and chores. He was so proud of the set of steers that Wyatt, Westyn, Tantyn, Nash, Grayson and Nova put together and took great joy in watching the kids work with those animals while his little friends Ronson and Briar mucked about.

Anyone who knew Dave knows he did life on his own terms, he kept his circle small, shared his wisdom openly and he valued his wife, children, horses and dogs above anything else. As David stepped forward to heaven he joined his father Donald, who already had the horses hooked, and together they will teach Jeremiah to drive while he sits on the back of the wagon, swinging a rope with the old dogs Coady, Wiz and Tuff  following along behind.

David's life was centered around family, horses, cattle, dogs and cowboying and his legacy will live on in two fine young men, a couple of good dogs, a shared knowledge of all things cattle, and a few dozen really great horses.

A Celebration of Dave's life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, 2025 at the Lakedell Agricultural Society Arena. 

To assist in their continuing education, the family has created an educational fund for Wyatt and Westyn. If you wish to donate to this fund, you can e-transfer to wwvolkertrust@gmail.com. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of David Robert Frank Volker, please visit our floral store.