Carl David Hedges, 73, passed away on May 29, 2026, in Austin, Texas.
David was born on December 9, 1952, and grew up in Salina, Oklahoma, where he spent his childhood surrounded by family. He had an adventurous spirit and spent much of his life seeing where the road would take him, calling California, Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas home over the years. David often said he was happiest sleeping under the stars rather than under a roof.
David had a lifelong love of horses. While living in Ocala, Florida, he worked on a horse farm, a fitting place for a man who truly loved being around them. He also loved old country music, especially fellow Salina native Carl Belew, and enjoyed picking up his guitar and singing. His family remembers David asking his brother, Michael, to mail him cassette tapes of his favorite country music wherever he happened to be living. In a way, those tapes carried a little piece of home with him wherever he went.
One favorite family story began when Michael became worried after not hearing from David for quite some time. Remembering a restaurant David had frequented in Ocala, Michael and his wife, Jean, traveled to Florida hoping to find him. When they began asking around, people at the restaurant knew exactly who they meant: “the tall cowboy with the cowboy hat.” A woman who knew David led Michael and Jean straight to the horse farm where he was working. It became one of those family stories that would be told—and smiled about—for years.
During the last several years of his life, David found a home and community he loved at Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ Community First! Village in Austin. There, David found friendship, belonging, and support that helped him achieve sobriety. He also gave back, volunteering, mentoring, and helping others who had experienced homelessness. His own journey gave him an understanding of people walking similar roads, and he used those experiences to help others. After so many years of traveling, David had found a community where he was known, valued, and able to make a difference.
David was a son, a brother, a father, an uncle, and a true free spirit. He loved horses, old country music, his guitar, traveling, and living life on his own terms. He was also known for speaking his mind without much hesitation. David could say something completely unexpected—and sometimes something nobody particularly wanted to hear—only for it to become something everyone laughed about later. His quick wit, colorful personality, and unforgettable remarks were simply part of David being David.
David is survived by his son, David Hedges of Muskogee; his brother, Bobby Leach and wife, Brenda, of Salina, Oklahoma; and his sister, Brenda Chancellor and husband, Steve, of Rose, Oklahoma.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Annalee Leach Wynn; his brother, Michael Hedges; his sisters, Edith Gann and Connie Davis; and his grandmother, Lillie Davis Leach.
David’s family extends their heartfelt gratitude to the neighbors, volunteers, and staff of Mobile Loaves & Fishes and Community First! Village who welcomed him, walked alongside him, and became an important part of the final chapter of his life.
David’s journey took him many miles from the little Oklahoma town where it began. Along the way were horses, guitars, old country songs, nights beneath the stars, a cowboy hat that apparently made him pretty easy to identify, and plenty of remarks that could leave his family shaking their heads one minute and laughing the next.
In his final years, that long road brought David to a community where he found belonging and purpose and where he was known as a neighbor, a volunteer, a mentor, and a friend.
His memory will be treasured always.