USAFA Class Heritage Class of 1963

Retired Col Air Force 87: CP (Command Pilot): 

94--09: Financial Representative First Command;

87-94: Fin Advisor United Ser Planning Assoc&lndependent Rsch Agency TX;

85-87: Cmdr (Commander) 14ABGp Columbus AFB; 

84-a5: C Formulation&Analysi sDiv HqUSAF (Headquarters US Air Force);

82-83: Stu (Student) AirWC (Air War College);

77-82: lnstrPlt (Instructor Pilot)/OpnsO (Operations Officer)/SqCmdr 54FTSq/C StdnEvalDiv 64FTWg Reese AFB;

74: SysPgmMgtO F-111/F-16 SPO ASD (Aeronautical Systems Division) WP AFB;

70-72: AOC (Air Officer Commanding) CWDS3 USAFA (US Air Force Academy);

69-70: Pit (Pilot) 7AF (Air Force) Tan Son Nhut AB SVN;

69: Pit (Pilot) 614TFSq (Tactical Fighter Squadron) Phan Rang AB SVN;

65-68: lnstr PII T-38 3576PIITngSq VanceAFB;

63: PIITng VanceAFB; 

1DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross)-1 BSM (Bronze Star Medal)-2MSM (Meritorious Service Medal)-6AM2AFCM (Air Force Commendation Medal); 

7126 Bluff Pt Frisco TX 75036-5281: Margaret

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Following is from obituary published in Dallas Morning News, Aug 23, 2026:

Born in 1941 in Buffalo, New York, Don attended Cleveland Hill High School. Immediately following graduation, he accepted an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he began his journey to become a pilot. After graduating in 1963, he moved to Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma and then sent to an assignment at Randolph Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas for instructor training where he met the love of his life, Maggie. They married in 1965 and began their life together in the Air Force. In 1969, while balancing deployments to Vietnam during the war, Don and Maggie welcomed their first daughter, Jennifer. Don later returned to the Air Force Academy as an Air Officer Commander. In 1972, their second daughter, Kristen, was born in Colorado. Their Air Force journey took them to many places before bringing them to Dallas, Texas, where Don earned his Master's degree at Southern Methodist University. The military moves continued, eventually taking the family to Columbus, Mississippi, where Don served as Base Commander. After 24 years of dedicated service, he retired from the Air Force in 1987 as a Colonel. Retirement from the military didn't mean retirement from serving others. Don continued helping military families as a financial advisor in Lubbock, Texas. After his second retirement, Don and Maggie moved to Georgetown, Texas, where they embraced life as full-time golfers and enjoyed many happy years together on the course. In 2017, they moved to Frisco, Texas, to be closer to their girls. Those years brought some of Don's greatest joys: Sunday card games with his girls, family dinners, time with Maggie, and, of course, golf with his buddies. He continued playing as much as he could until the very end, even though he would often say that a particular round might be his last, always reminded him, "A bad day of golf is still better than a good day at work."