Born ‎17 Jan 1941 San Francisco, San Francisco County, California, died ‎5 Jul 2010 Castle Rock, Douglas County, Colorado‎, age 69 years
January 17, 1941 – July 5, 2010 Don Harvey was born on a winter's day in San Francisco. It was January 17, 1941, the country was at war as Donald Michael Harvey and his wife Florene (Memmott) Harvey welcomed their little son into the world. Don would be an only child but he wouldn't be a lonely child. His parents had family near by … and his cousin, Russ, became a life-long buddy. In high school, Don developed a love of cars, sports and that "crazy new music" called "Rock and Roll." Don was a little bit more of a dreamer in those days and recounts to his children being told by a guidance counselor that he'd never achieve his dream of being a lawyer so he should start looking toward something else. Having been crushed by someone in authority, Don was an encourager of his friends and family to pursue their dreams despite what anyone else said. In 1958, Don graduated from Capuchino High School in San Bruno, California and went on to Santa Monica Community College. He stayed there for a couple of years and transferred to University of Southern California. You might say the maroon and gold of USC got into his blood and stayed there for years to come. When he graduated in 1963 with the Vietnam draft in full swing, Don decided to make his own choice and enlisted in the Air Force. However, his military career was short-lived due to a neck injury he received in a car accident in his youth. The injury was significant enough for the Air Force to discharge Don so he decided to go back to USC to get his MBA. In 1966, Don married Laura Craig and began his work for the Air Force in Los Angeles as a civilian in the Air Force's human resource department for civilian employees. Soon after, they moved to San Diego, California and then to Great Falls, Montana. Their first child, Sheri, arrived in 1968 and three years later in 1971 Donald arrived on the scene. By 1970, Don had continued to follow the promotion line to Civilian Personnel Officer at Minot Air Force Base, which meant a move to North Dakota. By 1973, the marriage between Don and Laura was irreparably damaged and they divorced. Don wasn't cut out for single life and found a best friend in a human resource coworker he'd met in Minot. That coworker, Ruth Ann (Bancroft) Haykel, said yes to his marriage proposal and, in 1975, they married in St. Louis, Missouri. The marriage was challenged right from the start with trying to create in real life a "Brady Bunch" out of their two families. Ruth brought with her daughters Lori, Lisa, and Lynette and Don his daughter Sheri and son Don. During the summers when they all lived together, they managed to create many memories, such as piling in the Bronco for the drive-in theater or Six Flags amusement park and almost always singing "Jeremiah was a Bullfrog" or cruising to the beach boys. It wasn't always easy to get the family together but they did. Don's kids lived with their mother who married Colonel J. J. Hansbrough and his military career kept them on the move. Don's job with the federal government also kept him on the move as well. Promotions sent the family to Kaneohe, Hawaii (Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard), then back to St. Louis (Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center) and then off to Chugiak, Alaska (Alaska Railroad). It was in Alaska that Lori graduated from high school and headed off to college in Washington. Just as Lisa graduated, the family headed off to Maryland where Lisa went to college and Lynette finished out her high school career and went on to college too. Raising girls as a stepdad isn't easy. There's a whole wide range of emotions that teenage girls never seem able to control. But Don was good with the chaos. He was protective when he needed to be, quiet and comforting when boyfriends became busts, and steady and firm when curfews and ground rules were challenged. Don was proud to attend his daughter Sheri's high school graduation in Germany in 1986 and his son Donald's high school graduation in Texas in 1989. They went on to college and Don attended their college graduations as well. In 1989, Don's career brought him to Colorado with Fitzsimons Army Medical Center and they took up residence here in Castle Rock. Opportunities for golden parachutes arrived for both Ruth and Don and by 1996 they were both happily retired. Their kids are living all across the country (California, Utah, Texas, Maryland, and Castle Rock, Colorado). Don and Ruth used that as an excuse to enjoy the adventure of travel but still had family to share holidays with too. Don would love finding new places to explore and especially to eat! So many of the kids' experiences with great food included Don or Ruth inviting them out to a restaurant they'd never try on their own. And with retirement and grown kids came the grandkids and great-grandkids they could dote on. Don and Ruth would make it a priority to spend time with the kids living in Castle Rock as well as traveling to see and hosting kids who lived all across the country. Many stories are told about Grandpa Don's wisdom of teaching how to cast a fishing line, ride an ATV, or philosophy of "in or out of the house -- pick one" and the preemptive strike of bedtimes that could start as early as 7 pm. Family was important to Don. In July 2003, Don and Ruth organized a Family Reunion in Estes Park and did it again last July 4th. Don started to slow down in 2006 and they found out the reason was prostate cancer. Like the trooper he'd always been, he set out to beat this thing and did fairly well for three years. This past year, his numbers started jumping off the charts and things started getting worse. It was with great joy that he set aside some of the fight and pain to celebrate his 69th birthday with his family, including all five kids, at the Brown Palace this past January. It was one of his "good days." Yet, from there the bad days just seemed to out number the good ones. Don spent the last month of his life in and out of the hospital. Till he was able to say with some impishness in his eyes-"can you believe it— no doctor in my entire life has ever told me to gain weight?! Now if I only had an appetite, I'd show them!" This past weekend his energy and fight seemed to be drained off him like the fluid taken off his lungs. The day after the fourth of July he could hardly summon the energy to keep his eye lids open, but he could sustain the effort to return Ruth's kiss. Monday night Don kissed this world goodbye and gave up all the pain and challenges of fighting cancer to be present with his Lord and Savior in heaven. We give thanks for this special servant of God that has touched so many lives in so many ways; son, husband, dad, stepdad, grandpa, great-grandpa, cousin, coworker, friend and neighbor.

‎1st marriage to: Donald Arthur Harvey, ‎2nd married/ related to: N.N.