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Don was born on January 21, 1937 in Yakima, WA., the third of four children of
Edward & Norma Dawson. He is survived by his wife and best friend, Patty, and
three children and their spouses: David Dawson and wife Joy, Lynn Dawson Estey
and husband Joe, and Daniel and wife Staci. He was the proud and much loved
grandpa of six grandchildren including Joey, Bethany, Michael, Lucas, Kelsey
and Melanie. Also surviving are brothers and one sister: Edward ('50) and wife
Marcie, Jack ('52) and wife Murrel, Dolores (Slovarp) and husband Tom and
numerous nieces and nephews.
His family moved to Richland in 1943, where he grew up and graduated from high
school. Don often talked about the fun he had growing up with his buddies,
spending most of their time playing in and exploring the Yakima river, riding
their bikes through the desert and camping out. He was blessed enough to have
this same group of buddies continue to be life long friends.
He met Patty during the first week at CBC (in the old Navy complex) and
started dating. Don started in the Navy reserves, but after a few months of
college, decided to go into the army. He completed basic training at Fort Ord,
and the following December married Patty. He was stationed in Japan during his
enlistment in the army. Finishing his duty to the Army, he joined the Air
Force and spent the next 20 years traveling all over the world. Patty and
their 3 children lived with him in Okinawa, Hawaii, France, Belgium, and
various places in the US. He also did a tour of duty in Vietnam. During his
Air Force career Don served on the staff of 2 four star generals and traveled
extensively with them. Always humble, he received numerous commendations,
medals, and citations but rarely told anyone about them. He retired from the
Air Force in 1976 and his family returned home to Richland.
He worked for the City of Richland as the solid waste supervisor for 15 years
and retired in 1995. Don was well respected and well liked by everyone who
worked at the City, and was instrumental in improving the method for managing
the activities of the department until his retirement. Along with Don's
compassion and warmth, he will always be remembered for his great sense of
humor. He had a special gift for seeing the best in people and creating the
best of times. He enjoyed spending time with his friends and family, fishing
and golfing. For 13 years, he was part of a Richland Fellowship that supported
him and received support from him.
Don was a member at Westside Church and was deeply touched by the ''Alpha''
program. It helped to resolve many of the questions he had about life and God.
It led him to a faith in Jesus that was a powerful experience for his family
in the last year of his life.
A memorial Service will be held Saturday October 18th, 2003 at Westside Church
(South) in Richland at 2:00 pm. Gifts of remembrance may be made to the Tri
City Cancer Center or Tri City Hospice.
Express your thoughts and memories in the online Guest Book at
www.einansfuneralhome.com in the obituary section.