David Losey: A Selfless Life of Christ-Centered Adventure
Luke Wayne – March 07, 2025
Celebrating a Life Devoted to Christ, Creation, and the Next Generation
Remembering David Losey (1939-2025)
On April 27, 2025, a faithful and beloved man of God went home to be with the Lord. David Losey was a devoted husband and adoptive father, a passionate follower of Jesus, and a faithful member of Turning Point Church in Spokane Washington. He was also a treasured friend of Canyon Ministries to both staff and guests alike. Over a period of 16 years, David brought roughly 27 young men and women on river trips through the Grand Canyon (some of them more than once) to experience the wonder of God’s creation and learn the evidence of the biblical Flood, often sponsoring their trips entirely out of pocket. Even in his last year, when his body could finally no longer take the strains of hiking and rafting, he still brought one more youth out for a few days of creation adventure, utilizing our vehicle-based daily tours to explore the Canyon from above and walk through ancient ruins and volcanic craters while helping this young man reinforce a Christian worldview.
David’s trips with Canyon Ministries were just one piece of his larger effort to invest in the next generation and show God’s love and truth to young people. Having previously served part of his career as a program director for the YMCA, David devoted his retirement years to mentoring youth through his local church. In addition to his trips to the Grand Canyon, David also brought young men and women to see the biblical sites in Israel, visit the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in Kentucky, and to serve on mission trips in Mexico. As with the river trips, David paid for many of these adventures with his own money, seeing it as a literal investment in Christ’s Kingdom and in the spiritual lives of these youth.
Like the servants with the five and the two talents in Jesus’ famous parable (Matthew 25:14-23), David took all that God had given him and he poured into the lives of others with great return. There is no doubt he stood before his Lord and heard, “well done, good and faithful servant. Enter the joy of your Master!”
In His Own Words: An Interview with David Losey
David and the Losey Kids: Reflections by Tom Vail
David had a heart for the young men he brought with him on the trips. He made sure it was not just a fun river trip for them, but an experience which brought them closer to their Savior.
I had the privilege of doing seven river trips with David and 14 young men from the youth group he led at his church who were sometimes called the Losey Kids. Beyond being a very Godly man, David had a heart for the young men he brought with him on the trips. He made sure it was not just a fun river trip for them, but an experience which brought them closer to their Savior. If you were a Losey Kid, you didn’t get to just sit and listen, you were drawn into the conversation with questions like “Do you agree with that,” or “What do you think about that.”
Several of the youth David brought with him were baptized on the trip. I remember one baptism very clearly. I was assisting David by supporting the young man, as David lowered him into the river water, I stepped back to help bring him up, but I stepped back off a ledge and we both got baptized.
Of course, there was some fun along the way. The kids would want to sit in the front of the boat in the rapids, and David would be right up there with them. He sought for the trip to be just part of a long-term relationship he built with them, a relationship to mentor these young men in the truth of God’s Word. This also included taking them to places like the Creation Museum and on mission trips.
David was loved by all and will be missed both up here in the rim world and down in the canyon he loved to share with the Losey Kids.
Tom Vail
Founder of Canyon Ministries
My First River Trip with David: Reflections by Nate Loper
The Grand Canyon had opened his eyes to the tangible truth of the Bible, and he wanted others—especially the next generation—to experience that same wonder.
Over the years, I had the privilege of joining David on several trips—but that very first one stands out the most in my memory.
It was ten years ago, on my first Canyon Ministries trip as the trip leader. As I looked over the guest list, one name caught my attention—David. He was noticeably older than the rest of the group, and as we do in the Canyon family, I wanted to make sure he was cared for. So, before we launched at Lees Ferry, I made it a point to find him and check-in.
There he was, already sitting right up at the front of the boat.
I walked over, sat down on the side tube next to him, and introduced myself. “Hey, you’ve got a great seat up front,” I said. “Just a heads-up—this is the splash zone. You’ll get the most water when we hit the rapids. If you’d prefer a calmer ride, there’s a seat in the back with me.”
David just grinned and said, “Oh yes, I know. That’s why I chose this seat. It’s my favorite!”
That’s when I learned this was far from his first time. It was his sixth—or maybe seventh—trip with us. He’d been on many adventures before, always with a purpose. His mission was to bring as many young people as possible down the river, because, in his words, “there’s no place on earth with clearer evidence of God’s creation and the Flood.” The Grand Canyon had opened his eyes to the tangible truth of the Bible, and he wanted others—especially the next generation—to experience that same wonder.
He chose the front not just because he loved it, but because he wanted the youth with him to see how fun it could be—to show them that faith and adventure go hand in hand.
Though he was the oldest in age on that trip, over the next nine days I quickly realized he was the youngest at heart. At every bend in the river, every majestic canyon wall revealed, every hike and hidden waterfall, David was out front—eager, joyful, and full of stories. It felt like we had a third Canyon Ministries guide with us, as he poured out wisdom and wonder with every tale from his years of river experience.
Seven years later, he joined us for what would be his final river trip. I remember watching him near the front of the boat again, engaged in deep, joy-filled conversations with others—still talking about the wonders of God, still pointing people to the truth he’d come to love more with every passing year.
There are few people I’ve met whose lives so clearly reflect what it means to love God, love His creation, and love sharing it with others. David Losey was one of them.
His legacy lives on—not just in my heart, but in how I’ll always look forward with childlike excitement to the next bend in the river, remembering him there with a smile on his face, already pointing out what’s just ahead.
Nate Loper
Executive Director of Canyon Ministries
A Life Well Lived: Reflections by Bill Barrick
He desired to serve Christ to the end of his life and enjoyed every moment of his service. Few guests on our Canyon Ministries river trips have had the impact David Losey had.
David Losey (Arthur David Losey) remains etched in my memory with Grand Canyon as the backdrop below Truckseat Rapid where he was baptizing yet another of the young men he had mentored and brought along with him for a river trip. David and his beloved wife Karyl never had children of their own and she went home to be with the Lord twenty years before him after battling cancer. David and Karyl had decided that he should use some of their savings to scholarship young people from their church (Turning Point Church, Spokane, WA) on Canyon Ministries river trips. David fostered and mentored many young people over the years. In addition to Grand Canyon he took them on trips to the Creation Museum, Ark Encounter, and Israel.
Over the years he brought young people on over a dozen river trips in Grand Canyon. It was a great privilege and pleasure to co-lead some of those river trips, both 7-day and 4-day which David and his young cohorts joined. During those trips I witnessed at least three baptisms.
On David’s final trip in the canyon (August 2023) he confessed to me that his age was catching up with him (he was 84 at that time) and it might not be wise for him to come on another one due to the physical difficulties he was experiencing. We received a lot of rain on that trip, but David was focused on how well his two young guests (Asher and Ezra) were doing and whether they were growing through the experience spiritually. Giving up the canyon did not mean he was giving up mentoring young people in his church and community. He desired to serve Christ to the end of his life and enjoyed every moment of his service.
Few guests on our Canyon Ministries river trips have had the impact David Losey had. No one else shows up again and again as he did with two or three young people whose way he had paid. David entered heaven to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant,” on Sunday April 27. He leaves behind one adopted daughter, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, and many young people who know he cared deeply for them and for their spiritual wellbeing.
Bill Barrick
Board Member and River Guide for Canyon Ministries
Carrying the Torch
The vast legacy of a man like David Losey cannot be calculated this side of eternity. Exactly how many lives were touched? How many souls were brought to Christ? In just what ways were the faith of so many grown and deepened when they otherwise might have remained shallow? How many smiles were brought? How many hurts were eased or poor decisions averted by his tireless mentorship? Only the Lord truly knows. But this much is certain, the world is a far better place for countless youth, church members, fellow travelers, and river guides who had the honor to know him. He will be deeply missed!
Now it falls on each of us to consider how we might carry on in same heart as David, using our own gifts and resources to invest in people around us in selfless and enduring ways. What can you do in the days and years ahead to leave a legacy like David Losey? It’s certainly something to think and pray about. I know I will be.
