David E. Lawless passed away Tuesday morning, 1:45 AM at Hospice House in North Lima with his wife and three children by his side. He told them he had accomplished everything he ever wanted in life. "Why was I so lucky?" he kept asking. The lucky ones, however, were those who were fortunate enough to know him. He was born on July 21, 1940 in Garrettsville, Ohio, the son of Merle and Elsie Lawless. He graduated from North Lima High School in 1958, where he competed at the state track meet in the high hurdles. He was known as a prankster, even driving an unauthorized float onto the field during the Homecoming football game. He joined the Army on March 8, 1962, where he served as a morse code operator at Fort Knox, KY. He married his high school sweetheart, Linda Gray, on October 27, 1962. A self taught draftsman and engineer, he was the embodiment of the American Dream. After working for Tee Nee Trailer Co., the Deming Division of Crane Co., and Ohio Valley Fabricating Company, he decided to go into business for himself. He started Lawless Industries in 1971 and several years later founded Adnil Fabricating. The companies later merged to form HDT Manufacturing and moved from North Lima to Salem, Ohio. He joked that HDT stood for Hard Damn Times- which was often true for a steel fabricator in the Mahoning Valley. But, with steadfast determination he kept the company going. HDT expanded into building mobile equipment for General Motors and was eventually sold in 2002 but the entertainment portion of the business, building parade vehicles for Disney and other theme parks, was retained as Lawless Industries Ltd. David is considered "a legend and forefather" by many in the parade float industry, as he was capable of designing what others considered impossible. He retired in 2008, leaving the company in the very capable hands of his son Shawn. One of David's proudest moments was watching a Lawless Industries designed electric motorcycle break the A