Monday, November 11, 2019
We moved in next door to Don and Cheryl in Governors Club eleven years ago. We recall the warm welcome we received upon our arrival, including dinner invitations, invitations to football games and social events, and telephone calls to see how we were settling in to North Carolina. These kindnesses set the pattern for the coming years of neighborliness we always experienced from Don and Cheryl.
We remember Don as a kind man and thoughtful neighbor. Gary often borrowed tools from Don's extensive tool collection. We collected newspapers and mail for Cheryl and Don when they traveled, and they would always remember us with a gift when they returned.
We are gardeners who spend a lot of time in the yard. I would often see Don in the yard working on his own projects, including installing a concrete drainage ditch between our houses that required hauling and mixing heavy bags of concrete. Gary tried to help him one day and had a hard time keeping up with him. He can still see Don sitting on his gardening stool fixing a sprinkler head or putting out mealy worms on his bird feeder for the blue birds and then throwing golf balls at the squirrels to keep them away.
Often when I was sitting on my screened porch Don would come out to water his plants and greet me with a cheery "Wake Up!"
We would see him joining the walking group that passed by our house on the golf course in the early morning. We would also see him walking to the fitness center for a workout. If I saw him coming back from his workout I would let him know whether I thought he had put in enough time. On a couple occasions, he walked the steep hills of the Governors Club "mountain nine" golf course with Mary Ann. That is quite an accomplishment at any age.
But above all we will remember Don's exceptional sense of humor. It was rare to leave a conversation with him without a smile or laugh that would lighten your day. He was a great neighbor and will be missed by all the neighbors who knew him
