Donald Robert Scheel

June 21, 1938 - January 16, 2015

Four great themes defined Don Scheel's life - music, family, faith, and sports. Born in Chicago to Harvey and Mildred Scheel, Don grew up with the sound of his mother's music, rough and tumble closeness with his brother, Bill, the faith instilled by both his parents, and a ball in his hand.

Don's family spent the war years in Berkeley, California, where he was a choir boy at the local Episcopal church. He often quipped that it was there that he was dissuaded from a life of crime when he sang at San Quentin Penitentiary. Forty years later, he had that reinforced when on choir tour to England with the Florida Philharmonic Chorus and sang at Wormwood Scrubs Penitentiary.

After the war, Don's family moved to LeSueur, Minnesota - where Harvey worked for the Jolly Green Giant. During the LeSueur years, Don grew into a strapping, strong young man who excelled at football, track, and wrestling. As an 8th grader, he played on the high school varsity football team. Don followed Bill to Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, MN for high school, where the brothers looked out for each other and played on the football team together. Don also wrestled (heavy-weight, of course!) going undefeated in his junior and senior years.

Don attended Carleton College in Northfield, MN. While working on a degree in history, he also threw shot-put and discus on the college track team and was an offensive and defensive lineman, punter, and field goal kicker on the football team. He took great pride in the fact that Vince Lombardi scouted him to play for the Green Bay Packers, but he chose instead to get married and raise a family.

Following college, Don settled in South Bend, Indiana, and began what became his greatest life accomplishment. He raised four sons - George, Don, Ted, and Scott - who all went on to dedicate their lives in service to others. George became a Naval Officer and pilot, Don is an English teacher at Don's Alma Mater, Shattuck-St. Mary's, Ted is a physician in family practice, and Scott is a Presbyterian minister. As a father raising four boys on a shoestring, Don was a hands-on dad, coaching little league hockey, finding creative ways to feed four active, ravenous boys, and taking them on trips all over the country in their Dodge Maxi-Van, Old Reliable. Through these years, Don also participated in community theater, church choir; and he served as an elder in the Presbyterian Church. He also served as a counselor at the church camp and was active in all aspects of church life.

Later, Don moved on to the second part of his life. His parents were in decline, living in central Florida, and he felt blessed to get a job in Savannah, GA where he was close enough to them to visit on a regular basis. He became famous during this time for Don's Portable Parties. On Fridays, he would load his van with coolers of shrimp fresh from the Savannah docks and beer and head down to Florida, often meeting brother Bill on the way. There they would treat their parents, who at this point were in a nursing home, to a party in a gazebo out in the garden.

While in Savannah, Don sang with the Savannah Symphony Chorale, where he swore the members of the bass section had their eye on a particular soprano named Barbara. Don was the only one who had the courage to ask her out, and in November, 1990, Barbara walked up the aisle to Beethoven's Ode to Joy to marry him in what they joked was the tallest wedding on record. He promised Barbara's father that his mission in life would be to support her in her career and music, and he faithfully made good on that promise.

In 1997, Don and Barbara relocated to Seattle, where he was Director of Patient Financial Services for Group Health Cooperative. They continued their shared love of music by singing with the Seattle Symphony Chorale. There, they became close friends with Maestro George Fiore, and when George became organist at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, they joined him there in the choir. Through George and their music, Don and Barbara found their church home at Prince of Peace, where they have had the love and support of many wonderful people.

Don fought a valiant fight against lymphoma during the last three years of his life. Just before Christmas this year, he and Barbara got to sing together at Anderson Plaza, where he was living. It was a high point of the year for Don to be able to sing with Barbara one more time. He had a blessed Christmas and was ready to go to God peacefully.