David Main, 52, really was larger than life

Paul Willis, Special To The Rocky

Published October 8, 2007 at midnight

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When people said David Main was larger than life, they weren't dabbling in hyperbole.

Mr. Main was a large man - most of his adult days he carried about 400 pounds on his 5-foot-6 frame - but his stature was only part of the reason for the description.

With a voice that enabled him to successfully mimic several key figures in American history, such as Elvis Presley and John Wayne, a seemingly innate talent for music and a personality that enriched nearly everyone he encountered - including those whose vehicles he repossessed and nurses who provided care for him during his final days - Mr. Main was, in many ways, larger than life.

"Everyone who was at his funeral, they couldn't say a bad word about him," Kelly Main said of his brother, who died Sept. 22 at St. Joseph's Hospital from complications stemming from his weight.

"I mean, we're in the repo business, and before we'd take a car, he'd tell me to knock on the door and have a woman come get her car seat out of the car or tell a guy to come get his tools so they wouldn't have to jump through hoops to get them back."

Kelly Main, 47, is one of five siblings of David Main, who, at 52, was the eldest.

The brothers began their own business, Knights Eye Investigations and Recovery Solutions, in October 2005.

The business, which conducts private investigations, repossessions, skip tracing and surveillance has quickly become reputable in the industry, but Kelly Main admits certain situations can be shady.

David Main, though, always seemed to make a friend, even if he was hauling off their car. His capacity to imitate voices also made him an excellent skip tracer.

"He could call you 10 different times and you would think it was 10 different people," Kelly Main said.

The Mains grew up in rural Kansas, where much of the family remains, but Kelly and David moved to the Denver area in 1980. Kelly got started in the repossession and investigation business in 1982, and David joined him on and off before they finally joined forces with the family business two years ago.

David Main, who was born Jan. 24, 1955, took longer to immerse himself in the business because he was the lead singer in Electrivia, a local band that played 1950s and '60s rock.

While in the band, which disbanded in 1992, he was known as "Diamond Dave, The Round Mound of Sound."

Even during his final days at the hospital, he enamored the nurses by singing song after song when they checked on him.

"One nurse said she had been there 27 years and that no patient had ever done that or made such an impression on her," Kelly Main said.

Services were held Sept. 26 at Horan and McConaty (3201 S. Parker Road), and the family had a separate memorial Saturday in Cunningham, Kan.

On Sept. 30, Mr. Main was buried next to his father, Walter, in Kingman, Kan. Walter Main died April 29, 2005.

Mr. Main is survived by his wife, Bridget; their sons, Tamar and Noel; his mother, Helen, of Kingman, Kan.; two brothers, Kelly and Scott; three sisters, Bitsy, Kristie and Marla; and several in-laws and nieces and nephews.

Nephew Heath Main, 27, said Mr. Main was the funniest person he'd ever met.

He said that while looking through Mr. Main's possessions after he died, he found numerous employee-of-the-month awards from various jobs.

"As soon as you met him, you fell in love with him," Heath Main said.

"He's one of those people who shines a little bit brighter than everybody else."

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