Memorial articles for members of FlyerTalk have quietly ceased here at The Gate With Brian Cohen — but this article about Cholula will be one of two exceptions to that policy for Memorial Day 2026.
In Memoriam: Cholula
“Mrs. Cholula and I are VERY sorry to hear of Pat’s passing. She was very much a part of my 20 year experience on FlyerTalk, including the very first DO we attended in Venice. I can’t count the number of DOs, cities, and/or airports where we would see each other. Our hearts are sad.” is what FlyerTalk member Cholula posted in the CommunityBuzz forum on Thursday, May 5, 2022 at 8:41 in the evening Eastern Daylight Time ironically pertaining to a mutual friend on FlyerTalk whom we lost — and that became the last time he posted on FlyerTalk.
Cholula — whose real name is David Hickman — passed away on Wednesday, April 26, 2023; and this discussion on FlyerTalk is dedicated to his memory. The cause of death had not been publicly disclosed at the time this article was written.
Having first joined FlyerTalk as a member on Sunday, November 17, 2002 — approximately one month before I joined FlyerTalk as a member — Cholula prolifically posted content a total of 24,575 times and participated in a variety of forums. He was very devoted and incorporated in the FlyerTalk community, which included an extensive amount of time serving FlyerTalk members both as a member of Talkboard and as a moderator of several forums. He is survived by his wife Laura.
I knew Dave fairly well, as he was the first member of FlyerTalk that I met in person. Dave, FlyerTalk member Dovster, and I were considered the “triumvirate” of sorts on FlyerTalk back in the early 2000s when we all joined as new members of FlyerTalk within months of each other — especially in the Delta Air Lines | SkyMiles forum. We gave the moderators of the Delta SkyMiles forum a difficult time — and that was no different when I became a moderator of that forum. We were such troublemakers. Did we have fun!
Cholula was the first FlyerTalk member I have ever met in person; and he had changed my life in a number of ways — which is not surprising, considering that he had a significant impact on the lives of other people as well — and the list includes but is certainly not limited to:
- He is the key instrumental person who at first unknowingly assisted me in overcoming my hesitation of communicating with — and eventually meeting — hundreds of other members of FlyerTalk over the years.
- In the lounge of the Marriott hotel in El Paso in 2006 for this bizarre gathering of FlyerTalk members, Dave sparked the idea of me earning my Master of Business Administration degree — and I followed through on it later that year, having successfully earned it two years later.
- He occasionally sent business my way with regard to Cholula hot sauce — Dave was a successful representative of the company — as well as gave me and many other members of FlyerTalk coupons for free bottles of Cholula hot sauce. The photograph that is featured at the top of this article shows Dave holding a bottle of Tabasco hot sauce, which is a competitor of Cholula.
Dave attended many FlyerTalk events around the world — including The 2010 Second Annual Delta Air Lines FlyerTalk Event — October 21-24, 2010, which I co-organized; and the day that FlyerTalk made history for Israel and Lebanon — or, at least, should have…
I first received the news about Dave while I was traveling as a passenger aboard an airplane on my way to Omaha in Nebraska. Learning of his passing hit me like a ton of bricks. I miss seeing him in his signature Hawaiian shirts as he exuded his good nature and humorous fun spirit.
There is simply no one else like him.
Final Boarding Call
Whenever I see photographs of Dave, my sadness turns to smiles because of so many of the memories I have had with him over the years. I still have an oversized empty bottle of Cholula that reminds me of him.
The loss of a FlyerTalk member is always sad for me. I really dislike having to mourn yet another fellow frequent flier — especially one whom I considered a friend. This one hit me hard, which is why I took so long to write this article. No matter what I write, I just do not feel like I have done his memory justice. The pain of his loss has never completely dissipated even after greater than three years — and it likely never will.
In the meantime, my thoughts and prayers continue to be with the family, friends, and colleagues of Dave Hickman.
May you rest in peace, Dave. You are indeed sorely missed…
All photographs ©2007 and ©2011 by Brian Cohen.
