David "Redd" Stringer, Jr.

In Loving Memory of David "Redd" Stringer Jr.

Redd lived his life wide open, loud, and unfiltered. On June 22, 2026, he was taken from us far too soon at the age of 33 in a head-on collision in Queen City, Texas. He left this world exactly as he was: a good-natured smart-ass who lived and loved fiercely - and as a man who had overcome his hardest battles.

His greatest victory

If you knew Redd during the rougher years, you knew a young man who fought the heavy demons of addiction for a long, long time. He lost years to that darkness and spent his share of time behind bars and in rehab. He often felt the sting of being left "behind" everyone else in life. But Redd didn't let that be the end of his story, and he’d want it said loud and proud right here: he was coming up on three years clean and sober. His recovery was his greatest victory.

His kind heart

Redd was a man of calloused hands and a soft heart. Because of everything he’d been through, he possessed a deep wisdom and a non-judgmental empathy that most people couldn't begin to comprehend. If you were down on your luck, Redd was the guy who would go out of his way to lift you up. He’d hire the neighborhood kid to mow the yard just so the boy could have cash in his pocket and then turn around and buy him a bicycle so he could get around. He’d give his last dollar to a homeless person with an animal, knowing they’d feed their dog before they fed themselves. He had recently begun using his own hard-earned sobriety to help guide others struggling through with addiction, teaching people how to navigate life with peace and kindness.

A few proud moments

He was a Harley owner – and he saved up his money and paid straight cash for it. The first thing he ever truly bought and owned outright for himself. He was working and saving hard and was just months away from paying cash for a decent truck. He was doing so well, standing tall in the light - and never forgetting what he had been through, and always maintaining a spirit of gratefulness.

One of his passions

He wasn’t a chef by trade, but nobody could tell him he wasn’t the king of the kitchen. Just this past Sunday morning at 9:00 AM, he was standing over the stove drinking coffee with Aimee, making "onion balls" from a recipe he got inspired by. Of course, his were probably wrapped in way more bacon than the recipe called for (but you don’t mess with the kitchen boss!).

His personality and humor

His sense of humor could be a little dark, incredibly sharp, and his laugh – well, let’s just say, if he was laughing, so were you. He loved to mess with his momma – like the time he couldn’t wait to show her the latest tattoo he got while he was in jail. Wait for it…. A tattoo inside his ear that said, “Sounds Good” (smh), and his forearms stamped with “Live Now, Die Tryin’” and his biceps with “Fear God.” He had big plans for a neck tattoo: the devil whispering in one ear, an angel in the other, and the story of his recovery backed by God. Though he didn’t get to finish that ink on his skin, he played it out in his life.

Getting into trouble with Nina

Redd is now reunited with his beloved grandmother, Nina (Carlena), who passed in 2015. The two of them were always close, always getting into some kind of beautiful trouble together, and there’s no doubt they are raising a little hell together right now.

The knock at the door.

For years, his momma lived with a constant, quiet dread, waiting for that terrible knock on the door that every parent of an addict fears. But over these last two years, that fear faded. She got her son back. Redd became her best friend, her mentor, and her rock. It was Redd, Kat, and Aimee. The three musketeers doing this life together with the highs, lows and everything in between. But Aimee got her knock at the door on Monday, June 22.

A heart-wrenching goodbye

He leaves behind his great love and his rock, Kat; a community of family and friends who will forever miss his wide grin; and his momma, whom - if you couldn’t tell by now - he loved fiercely. Aimee likes to say they grew up together. She was his, and he was her #1. He wasn’t shy about expressing how much he loved her and repeatedly thanked her for never turning her back on him and never giving up on him.

Love you also.

Redd was a straight shooter. He was blunt, he was real, and he didn't care about offending polite sensibilities. But beneath all that loud, smart-ass exterior was a man who knew exactly who loved him, and exactly who he belonged to. And he did not take that for granted.

If Redd could look his momma in the eye one last time today, poke a little fun at her, everyone who knew them knows exactly what he’d say to his favorite person:

“Love You Also.”*

Survivors include his mother, Aimee Cruise of Texarkana; his father, David Lee Stringer, Sr. and wife, Kristen, of Plano; his significant other, Kathryn Delanghe of Texarkana; his son, Asher Dean Stringer of Texarkana; his grandparents, Susie McMillan and Tim Stringer; his brother, Michael Dean Findley of Craigsville, West Virginia; his uncles, Paul Stringer and Shorty Cruise and his nephews, Waylon Dean Findley and Abel Lee Findley of Craigsville, West Virginia.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Friday, June 26, 2026, at Clarksville Funeral Home.

The family has requested that friends and family gather at Clarksville Funeral Home at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 27, 2026, to proceed together to the graveside service. Graveside services will be held at 1:00 p.m. at Cuthand Cemetery with Rev. Shawn Findley officiating. Burial will follow under the direction of Clarksville Funeral Home.

Serving as pallbearers are: Larry Don Galyean, Dale Alsup, Salvador Meza, Richard Olds, Chris Miles and Todd Duffer.

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