Don is a renaissance man of many talents but he would never admit to any of them.  He is skilled in sailing, hunting, soccer, baseball, archery, automotive maintenance, motorcycle racing, and backpacking.  To his family & friends he is the epitome of being forever young.  Here’s his story, told by his oldest son.

EARLY LIFE:  Don’s parents moved from New York to Los Angeles before the Great Depression.  Don’s father graduated from CalTech & worked in the aerospace engineering field designing & testing high-altitude fuel systems.  Don was born in August 1938 and has one younger sister born five years later.  From 7-9 years old he was enrolled at the Southern California Military Academy, for boys 7-17, that provided leadership training & had high educational standards.  He attended Dorsey High School in Los Angeles and focused on competitive swimming.  He learned about cars with his father who owned a MG TC & Austin Healey & took Don on car rally’s.  Don worked during High School moving furniture to raise money to buy his first car for $100, a 1937 Chevrolet Coupe.

COLLEGE LIFE:  Don attended El Camino College for a year and then transferred to San Jose State.  A year later he transferred to a new college in Northridge called San Fernando Valley State, which opened in 1958.  He said he learned to party at El Camino & San Jose State, so when he got to SFVS he had to teach the new students how to party.  He was an excellent student and focused on his Biology degree.  He owned a green 1952 Willys Wagon 4×4 that he used to make trips into the Sierra Nevada mountains & down to the beach to catch waves with his restored 18 foot Old Town sailing canoe.  It was at college that he met his wife Roberta, or Bobbie as she preferred to be called.  She was three years younger and they shared botany classes together.  Don would take girls out in his canoe surfing the waves along the beach and he found it easy to spill them out of the canoe … but not Bobbie, she was different.

EARLY MARRIED LIFE:  In April 1963 Don & Bobbie married at the Wayfarer’s Chapel in Palos Verdes CA.  Their first home was a converted horse barn in Canoga Park in 1963 and soon moved into the home connected to the barn.  Their first son Lee was born in October 1963 and the next year in December their second son Andy arrived.  In 1966 Don accepted a job at Rockwell International near LAX as an Industrial Safety Engineer so the family bought their first home in Manhattan Beach for $21,000 with a $180 mortgage payment.  Don & Bobbie continued to backpack into the Sierra Nevada mountains with their young boys & two dogs.  In 1971 their third son Barney was born to complete the family.

CAREER:  After graduating with a Biology degree from Cal State Northridge in the early-60’s, Don began working with North American Rockwell near LAX in 1966 as an Industrial Safety Engineer.  Then in the 1980’s he joined Norris Industries in south east Los Angeles working as the Safety Director.  In the early days of personal computers he enjoyed developing software training games to educate the employees.  In the 1990’s Don joined Rockwell Semiconductors as their Fire & Safety Director in Newport Beach and retired in 1998 at 60 years old.

CAMPING:  Don & Bobbie have loved camping ever since they first met in the 1960’s.  They would backpack into the mountains with huge backpacks & young boys on their heads, pitching tents, making campfires, and enjoying the pure beauty of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.  They enjoy camping on the unspoiled beaches of Baja California at Bahia Los Angeles & Mulege.  And they enjoy trailering their sailboats to Huntington Lake for weeks camping & sailing on the clear water.  But their most traditional camping experiences have been at Kern River.  They would take their kids & dogs there each year, fishing for trout, hiking into the mountains, and floating down the river.  It has been a perfect place to teach his sons & grandkids about camping, starting fires, fishing, and enjoying their relaxed life.

MOTORCYCLING:  Don had a thing for racing dirt motorcycles since an early age.  In his 20’s he raced a Bridgestone motocross at local dirt tracks around Southern California.  In his 30’s he raced a powerful Suzuki 400 at Ascot Raceway, Carlsbad Raceway, and in the desert.  When his boys got old enough to ride Don decided to stop riding after his oldest son broke his arm riding a minibike.  After the boys moved-out he continued trail riding at Hungry Valley and Indian Dunes and has never stopped.  In his 60’s he raced a vintage Ossa 250cc in races with guys half his age.  At 70 he rode a KTM and now at 80 he looks forward to riding during red sticker season as much as he can.

SAILING:  Don loved the water growing up in Southern California.  He learned to surf, scuba, & sail in his 20’s.  In 1971 he built his first sailboat, an 18 footer called the Key Largo.  He built this boat by hand in his one-car garage and launched it at Marina del Rey.  Then in the 1980’s he bought a Ranger 20 they named Team Mother, and the family took many trips to Catalina Island, Baja California, & Huntington Lake.  Don became the Race Chairman of the San Fernando Valley Yacht Club.  In the late-90’s after he retired he bought a racing sailboat, a 24 foot Moore, which he honed his skills on the water at regattas with local yacht clubs.  His most recent sailboat was a 30 foot J92, called Turn Key, a world class racer.  Don learned to use GPS to optimize his racing times & became an expert sailor with the help of Bobbie & his son Andrew.

SOCCER:  With three sons Don decided to get them involved in sports.  AYSO soccer was in its early stages of development in Southern California in 1971 and Don began coaching & learning the game.  By 1973 he decided to form a traveling soccer team of young boys and visited Culiacan Mexico.  For several years the team took trips to Culiacan to play soccer with the local teams.  Then the Mexican teams would visit Manhattan Beach to play at Christmas time.  Don & Bobbie continued to coach their three sons in soccer while they both played on adult soccer leagues to stay active.  Their oldest son Lee was the most accomplished of the three sons, playing at the collegiate level at the University of Redlands.

RETIRED LIFE:  Don & Bobbie love to travel in their RV to Arizona for spring training baseball.  They have enjoyed Cowboy Action Shooting in competitive events all around the western states.  They spent time watching their grandson Curran play baseball, build Cub Scout soapbox derby racers.  And they attend as many of their family events as possible with their son’s families in Manhattan Beach, San Diego, & Hawaii.  And they live in the same home in Manhattan Beach that they bought 52 years ago.

BASEBALL & SOFTBALL:  Don’s love for baseball began at an early age.  He coached his three sons in Little League in the 1970’s.  They try to make as many Dodgers games as possible and travel to Arizona for spring training each year.  He’s continued his love for the game with his softball team in Manhattan Beach and loves it more than ever.  It’s one of the best ways he can stay forever young.