David Paul Czajka

David Paul Czajka, 88, of Toledo, passed away on May 29, at his South Toledo home, with his family by his side.

David, the only child of Tony and Grace (Weigle) Czajka, was born September 5, 1937 in Toledo and lived many years on Montrose Avenue and later Rocksberry Avenue.

He was a 1956 graduate of Macomber Vocational High School and served as chairman of his class reunion committee for 40 years.

David worked 34 ½ years as an elevator motor assembler at the former Haughton Elevator Company. Haughton was purchased by Schindler Group in 1979, which operated the plant as Schindler Haughton Elevator Corporation until 1989. He was one of the last employees working to secure the closed Spencer Street facility, retiring in 1991 when the site was abandoned. It was torn down in 2007.

David started investing in real estate in 1983 and was the owner of DC Enterprises LLC, which owned rental properties. In 1989, he joined the Toledo Real Estate Investors Association, serving many years as the group's Vice President. He frequently testified before the Ohio Legislature and Toledo City Council about issues of interest to rental property owners.

A longtime car enthusiast, David was a member of the Lancers Car Club. In the early 1960s, he showed a 1959 Chevrolet Impala. He later owned a 1973 Mustang Mach 1 and a 2014 Camero. His automotive dream came true when he owned a 2017 Corvette Grand Sport.

David was an active member of the International Show Car Association (ISCA) and served as the supervisor of judging for their Auto-Ramas across the Great Lakes for 47 years. He also judged at the Ames Performance Pontiac Nationals, held at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio for 32 years.

He was very involved in the former Toledo Rod & Custom Auto-Rama, which started in 1957 at the Civic Auditorium. It outgrew that facility and moved in 1965 to the Sports Arena where it ran until 2004. Working with event founder Warren Bookman, David was responsible for securing and coordinating the vendors at the event.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Loula Belle (Price) Czajka, and his daughter, Terri Lynn Czajka.

David is survived by his son, Jerry Allen Czajka, daughter Sherri Ann (Czajka) McCormick, granddaughter Alyssa McCormick and partner of many years, Sue Sanchez.

The family will greet friends at a Celebration of Life for David from 3pm - 8 pm on Wednesday, June 24 at the Toledo Sailing Club, 2701 Broadway Street.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to Toledo Animal Rescue, 640 Wyman St. , Toledo, OH 43609