David Theiss at Butler Meats on June 3, with barbecue utensils passed down from his father — late Carson City watchmaker Robert Theiss.
Photo by Scott Neuffer.
In the weeks before Father’s Day, David Theiss of Butler Gourmet Meats opened up about being a dad while sitting in the small back office of his decades-old butcher shop.
I had been looking for a local dad to interview ostensibly for a Father’s Day story. David fit the bill. The 1981 Carson High grad, now 62, is a successful business owner, columnist, self-proclaimed “foodie,” and father of six.
“I love that they’re so different, every single one of them, and I absolutely live my life to spend my time with my children,” he said.
His three daughters and three sons are all grown, in their 30s and 40s. Three live in Northern Nevada. Their interests and careers range from engineering to woodwork to digital art.
David described each as talented in their own way.
“You can’t compare one to the other. They’re just amazing,” he said. “I just love spending time with every one of them, in their own way and together.”
His kids love to cook. One of his greatest dad moments has been Christmas dinner when “everyone jumps in, side dishes, everyone cooks all the steaks, and we have the best dinner because everyone had that input to this whole thing.”
“You see the smile on my face, and as a matter of fact I pretty much sit back and watch unless they want my opinion on something, which they do,” he continued. “It makes me smile. It makes me think, ‘You know, I’ve influenced their life in a really good way.’”
In the summers, barbecuing with the kids (and one grandchild) is frequent, David explained. He showed me his father’s barbecue tongs, knives and a platter that looked like it was teleported from the 1950s. He said his dad, Robert Theiss, wasn’t really a cook but would barbecue hotdogs and hamburgers. He was a master gardener who raised produce for the family of six children.
Robert was also a Korean War veteran who specialized in aircraft instruments and used his technical skills to become a watchmaker after the war. David said he once called his dad (to a science teacher) a horologist, someone who studies time and timekeeping.
The family settled in Carson City in 1971. In 1973, Robert opened a watch shop in the Carson Mall. David remembered peeking into his father’s workplace, how the man managed every detail meticulously.
The memory mingled with other memories. A greenhouse. His father growing flowers for his mother, her favorite colors. How his father could cut an impossibly straight line with a saw.
“He was a very centered man. He knew exactly what he needed to do and how to do it,” David recalled.
Robert also had a sense of humor. He’d tell jokes. He’d bounce back whenever life dealt him a blow, sometimes literally. Once, he was transporting a newly-cut Christmas tree in Hope Valley with members of his church.
“Well, he falls over like this, and the sled goes right over the top of him. It was rather funny because it was deep snow, and he didn’t get hurt or anything,” David recalled. “He pops back up… It always makes me chuckle.”
When David described past action in the present tense, it became immediate, still playing out around us.
Robert Theiss died in 2019.
“I think his lessons are very unspoken,” David said. “It’s never he sat you down and told you this is the way it is, but I use my dad as an example… His examples for church, business. He was self-employed most of his life, which I have been. He owned his own business. I own my own business. I see a lot of similarities in this.
“His demeanor, his ethics. You know, your ethical behavior for people you do business with. I think those are really important things. Like I said, they’re very unspoken, but I see as an adult — and I saw early on — that my father was a very stand-up guy.”
The most challenging thing about fatherhood, David said, is dispensing tough love. He described it as not being mean or cruel but rather holding a child to a fair expectation, teaching them a work ethic and how to respect others.
Giving his own kids “the crappiest job” at Butler Meats was a kind of tough love, “so they’ll want to go out and be more successful doing something else.”
“I was never easy on my children… but you know what? They learned something,” he said. “I’ve gotten several letters from my children in the past 20 years that say, ‘You know, we are better people because of what you showed us and what you did,’ and it really touched my heart.”
David said his kids are successful in what they’ve chosen to do with their lives, and that makes him proud. He had some advice for dads out there, including the one interviewing him.
“Be involved in your children’s lives, in every aspect,” he said. “Pay attention to your children. Be involved in their schedules, their lives, the things that they enjoy.”