Born in Duluth, Minn., he was known as uncle Joe to his family and Don to his friends. He was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1973. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Alaska, where he spent most of his working life working for the Bureau of Land Management writing environmental impact statements.
In his off time Donald was an avid outdoorsman and amateur photographer. Some of his favorite activities were hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon and trips to the McNeil River to photograph the brown bears that are prevalent there. Closer to home, he enjoyed hiking and biking on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.
He is survived by his brother, John; his nieces, Renee, Christina and Denise; his nephews, David and Christian; as well as grandnieces and grandnephews, Cody, Caleb, Graham, Aria, Lara, Casimira, Chloe, William and Joseph.
We are planning a gathering of friends and family in remembrance of Don. We will meet at the parking lot at Lynn Ary Park at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 22, 2020. From there we will walk the Tony Knowles coastal trail to Bootlegger Cove - west of Fish Creek - where we will spread some ashes per his instructions.