He was born in East St. Louis, Illinois to Melvin and Edna Cosgrove. He was the sixth of seven children. Don attended Carlyle High School and was a member of the National Guard. After graduation he entered the United States Army. Upon completion of his military term, he married his high school sweetheart, Shirley Loddick. They moved to Champaign, Illinois where he attended the University of Illinois while working at Caterpillar Tractor Company in Decatur. It was during this time their first son, Don Jr., was born. Don and family later moved to Decatur and he transferred to Millikin University where he completed his degree in Engineering Administration. The transfer to Millikin afforded Shirley the opportunity to join Don at Caterpillar where she worked as an office assistant and he worked in the metallurgical laboratory. Their family continued to grow with Ray being born while they were still in Decatur. After college, Don and his family moved to Fort Worth to continue his career in nondestructive testing (NDT) and metallurgy at General Dynamics. Ten years later in 1973, Don and Shirley started their own business, NDE Labs, where they and their sons have worked alongside many dedicated co-workers serving the testing needs of the aerospace and other industries for the past 46 years.
Don was well-known in the field of NDT. His work included oversight of all operations at the company, along with investigative efforts at various locations in the United States and abroad. He was a Fellow of the American Society of Nondestructive Testing and he served many terms in various capacities both in the local ASNT North Texas Chapter and at the national level. He loved to fish and hunt and in his youth enjoyed participating in sports ranging from gymnastics to football.
Don was preceded in death by his parents Melvin and Edna, his mother and father-in-law Kathryn and Joseph, sisters Jane (Bob) and Betty (Joe), brothers Ray, Bill (Wanda) and Bob (Ethel) and sister-in-law Joan.
He is survived by his wife Shirley of 66 years, his son Don Jr and fiancée Toni, son Ray and wife Kim, grandchildren Brennan (Brandi), Cameron (Ashton), Don III - Trae (Jacqualyn), Emory, Will (Brynn), great grandchildren Braelynn, Averee, Warren, Kannon, Emma, Graham, Evelyn and Reid, sister Kathy Gabriel (Fred), brother-in-law Joe Loddick and numerous nieces, nephews, friends and co-workers. Don will be missed greatly by his family, friends and co-workers with whom he lived and worked.
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