Donald Jackson Rorschach Sr.

Don was born on January 2, 1939, in Vinita, Oklahoma. Don was the only child of Jack L. Rorschach and Gertie Carroll Rorschach. Don graduated from Vinita High School, where he was the quarterback of the football team as well as a baseball shortstop. While in school there, Don met the woman who would become his wife, Robyn Sammy Burns Rorschach. Robyn and Don were married on January 2, 1960, in Vinita.

Don studied history at The University of Oklahoma, where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and earned his bachelor’s degree in 1961. Daughter Elizabeth was born while the couple was still living in Norman, Oklahoma. Don attended law school at the University of Texas, where he earned a juris doctorate in 1964, becoming a member of both the Oklahoma and Texas state bars that same year.

After graduation, Don and Robyn moved to Waco, Texas, where he served as Assistant City Attorney from 1964 to 1970. Their son Donny was born while the family was living in Waco in 1967. In 1970, Don accepted an opportunity as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Irving, Texas, where he and Robyn raised Elizabeth and Donny. Don served as the City Attorney for Irving from 1971 to 1999, stewarding the city through years of major growth and development, including the construction of DFW Airport and Texas Stadium. In his spare time, he spent hours in his garage machine shop making custom bullet dyes for benchrest shooting competitors.

Don and Robyn caught the scuba diving bug from Elizabeth in 1984 and became certified divers, traveling on multiple dive trips in the Caribbean and as far as the Fiji Islands. Don, who had always loved photography, became an avid underwater photographer and continued diving with Eels on Wheels even after an injury left him confined to a wheelchair in 1991. Don was a passionate animal lover and volunteered with DFW Tzus and More Rescue, and other organizations to rescue and provide veterinary care to dogs for several years. The story of Don’s rescue of a Shih-Tzu in the wake of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans was featured in the 2019 book Who Rescued Whom? by Margaret Bryant. Don cared for many beloved dogs throughout his life, including Perky, Doxie, Duffy, Beemer, Orli, and Miss Daisy.

Don showed immense strength and perseverance through years of health challenges up until the last moments of his life. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jack and Gertie, and wife, Robyn. Don (“Padre” and “Grandaddy”) is survived by daughter Elizabeth Arnott (John), son Donny Rorschach (Jill), and grandchildren James Arnott (Laura), Steven Arnott, Jack Arnott, Mary Catherine Arnott, Olivia Arnott, Madison Rorschach (Hope), and McKinley Rorschach.

Celebration of Life: Saturday, October 25, 2025, 5:30 – 7:30 PM, at Via Real Restaurant, 4020 N MacArthur Blvd Suite 100, Irving, TX 75038.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any memorials be directed to Operation Kindness: https://www.operationkindness.org/ or to the Pat Mathers Scholarship Foundation https://viareal.com/about/scholarships, started by Don’s longtime friend, Fran Lively, owner of his beloved Via Real restaurant, in Las Colinas, Texas. The family wishes to extend a heartfelt thanks to the entire Via Real family for their love and kindness toward Don over the many years he was a regular, nightly diner at his second home there.