David Vaughn Mincey, a long-time resident of Live Oak, Florida and member of First Baptist Church of Live Oak lost his battle against cancer on December 1st, 2025.  David was 67 and passed away peacefully at home after a 4-year fight against cancer.

David was born in Orlando, Florida in 1958 to Talmadge Mincey and Bobbi Reid and he spent his early childhood years in Auburndale, Florida.  He was one of five children with an older sister Pamela Jamro, his younger sister Tami Dawson, and youngest brother Talmadge "Brooke" Mincey and youngest sister Jamie Livingston.

As a kid, he loved sports and adored the time he was able to spend fishing with his Granny, Cora Mincey, and spending time drinking RC Colas and eating moon pies with his other grandmother, Noni Hickman.  He then spent a large part of his later school aged years in Naples, FL where he spent time surfing, playing sports, and pulling tourists out of the loose Naples beach sand when he came across someone who was stuck.

For anyone who knows David well, knows that he never hesitated to go on an adventure.  After graduating high school, he enjoyed riding his motorcycle to Illinois to live for a short period before returning to Florida. In the summer of 1979, he moved to Alaska in search of one of those adventures.  After a few short months of living in Fairbanks, Alaska, he met the love of his life, Linda Mincey.  In June 1980, David and Linda were married in Fairbanks and moved back to Central Florida, thereafter where they had two sons, Christopher and Jared.

David started his own land clearing and earthwork business, Mincey Fill Service, in 1981, which he operated until 2004.  David and Linda raised their family in Groveland during this time on Cherry Lake where he and his sons loved quail and dove hunting, water skiing, and fishing on a regular basis.  David loved to hunt and fish and spent as much time as he could hunting and grouper fishing with friends and family.  He was also a great snow skier and would take the family on an annual ski trip to either to Colorado or New Mexico which are some of the fondest memories of his sons' youth.

In January 2005, David and Linda moved to Live Oak, Florida where he built his current residence and became a local well-known realtor in the Live Oak area.  David and Linda joined First Baptist Church of Live Oak, and he became a deacon.  David developed a lot of friends over the next 20 years at church and while helping others with real estate.

David has a total of 4 grandchildren - Peyton, Sadie, Lillian, and Christian.  They were the highlight of his world later in life and he had a very soft side for his grandchildren he didn't always show to others.  On more than one occasion his grandchildren would receive in the mail "200-year-old" treasure maps which led them to bins of coins and $100 bills if they were able to read the compass and then later GPS coordinates to locate the treasure.  Memories his grandchildren will carry with them forever.

For those who knew David well, he had an adventurous and humorous approach to life and didn't carry many of the daily worries with him that many of us do.  It is why his personality was infectious and positively affected so many of those he crossed paths with in life.  He was an example to others around him to live with minimal worries, follow Christ, and that family was one of the most important aspects of life.

Over the last 4 months and a 4-year fight with renal cell carcinoma, chronic debilitating pain caused him to be nearly bedridden.  It became obvious to him and his family how many people he had created a lasting lifetime friendship with.  Since July, David was visited by countless friends and family who shared stories, laughed, and prayed with him.  For those of you who visited, thank you for the smiles you brought to his face.

David is survived by his wife Linda Mincey, sons Christopher and Jared Mincey, Daughters-in-law Michelle & Kasey Mincey, sisters Tami Dawson (Joseph), Pamela Jamro (Ron), Jamie Livingston (Mike), and brother Talmadge "Brooke" Mincey (Holly), Father Talmadge Mincey, mother Bobbi Reid, stepmother Dean Mincey, and four grandchildren – Peyton, Sadie, Lillian, and Christian.

Service Information:

The family will host a Celebration of Life for David at First Baptist Church of Live Oak on Saturday, December 13th.  Visitation will be at 10:00AM with service at 11:00AM.

For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son, for whomsoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9