Donald R. Spray

Donald R. Spray, a longtime resident of Corona del Mar, passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 25, 2012 at the age of 89. Don was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on August 10, 1923. Don is survived by his loving wife, Isabell, of 64 years. Don and Isabell were married in Vancouver, Canada. He leaves behind his three children, Donald Spray and his wife Sheila, Gayle Bruce and her husband Eric, and Sherri Neal and her husband Chris. Along with eight loving grandchildren, he leaves the four great-grandchildren he adored.

Donald served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Fighter Pilot in World War II. After his mechanical and electrical studies at the University of British Columbia in Canada and U.C.L.A. in California, he spent almost 40 years in the Aerospace Industry. He worked for Bendix, North American, and McDonnell Douglas performing as a DesignManager,supervising the design of electrical equipment, including projects such as Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and other orbital spacecraft. Some of Donald’s Apollo Command Module work is now in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

In addition to designing spacecraft, Don loved to design and build homes. The first home he built was a cabin on Grouse Mountain, near Vancouver, Canada at the age of 14. Don retired in 1991, but he continued to design landscapes and home renovations for his children and friends. Another favorite past time of Donald’s was travelling with his lovely wife. They have travelled all over the United States, Canada, Caribbean, Hawaii, Panama Canal, Spain, Mediterranean, and the majority of Europe. They enjoyed many cruises and tours.

Donald Spray was a humble, creatively talented, generous, and loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He brought great happiness to all of his friends and family. Jesus has a new angel. His earthly presence will be deeply missed.