Engineer, Fire Station 50-B
Deceased:
January 30, 2020
Appointed:
06/16/1953
Pensioned:
06/01/1980 – FS 50B
Services:
TBA
Donations:
IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, PLEASE SEND DONATIONS TO:
Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firefighter’s Fund
PO BOX 41903
Los Angeles, CA 90041
I met Don in 1990. He had been retired 10 years and left the job 6 months before I hired on. We were now living in our small Sierra community of Auberry and got to see each other often, either on Shaver Lake in the summer or the slopes of China Peak in the winter. Don would share stories with me from his time on the job and even though he was appointed 7 years before I was born the stories of life on the job all sounded familiar. Many years ago Don found me broke down with a boat full of kids at the far end of the lake. Typical of a fireman, he jumped in my boat and we “MacGuyvered” a temporary fix to get the boat back to the ramp. Don and Barbara raised a wonderful family and my wife and I are close with their son Steve and his wife Janet. Steve informed me that Don passed peacefully this morning. I’m grateful that we were able share one last drink just a month ago at a new years eve party. I knew that we wouldn’t have many more opportunities to spend time and it was a particularly good drink! So a tip o the helmet to you my water brother, you crushed the odds and had a fantastic 39 1/2 years on pension!
Well done, Don…well done