Donald Leroy Nyre

Until his last few months Don enjoyed a peaceful life in his home with ocean and harbor views. He was a smart, kind, soft-spoken man with many long-time friends and neighbors. Don is survived by his nieces, Connie Marking and Carol Franklin of Tucson, Arizona. He was preceded in death by his sister, Anita Marking.

Don was born January 28, 1930 in Mondovi in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, to Louise and Leslie Nyre. Don’s aunt was a school teacher who saw great promise in her nephew, so she and her husband brought Don out to live with them in the San Diego area where he attended Grossmont Union High School and graduated second in his class. In 1952 Don received a degree in physics from San Diego State University. He also took many courses at UCLA and New Mexico A&M, and was a lifelong member of Sigma Pi Sigma, physics honorary society.

Don’s career took him to White Sands, NM in the 1950s and to Santa Monica with Douglas Aircraft Company. He worked on Thor, Saturn and Nike missiles, and his assignment included advanced design of data processing and transmission systems. In May 1965 Donald presented a paper at the first International Telemetering Conference in Washington, D.C. Don’s engineering career continued with McDonnell Douglas Company in Huntington Beach and Nichols Research until his retirement in the 1990s. In recent years Don devoted many hours to the Airport Working Group of Orange County, a community advocacy organization representing the communities impacted by John Wayne Airport.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, December 15 at 2:00 pm at Pacific View Memorial Park and Mortuary, 3500 Pacific View Drive, Corona del Mar, CA 92625, phone 949-644-2700. Interment will follow the service. All who knew Don are welcome to attend.