Donald Paul Gieschen

Where to start? Dr. Donald Paul Gieschen, PhD was a man of many talents with a huge love of family, animals, & the pursuit of knowledge. It's difficult to tell Don's whole story without doing an injustice to his many accomplishments or to name his many friends & loved ones without leaving someone out. Know that D.P. or Donnie as he was known to his family & friends was loved & he loved many.

Donnie was born in St. Paul, MN to Don & Jeanne Garon Gieschen where his father Donald Senior was working on attaining his PhD. In 1959, Dr. Donald Gieschen Sr. packed up his proud family & relocated to Tempe, Arizona where Donald had accepted a professorship in Philosophy at Arizona State University. Donnie grew up here with sisters Jan, Ruth & baby brother Andy. It was a home of love & values where making the world a better place was stressed. His family's value in education inspired Donnie to excel in education & earn his PhD in Organic Chemistry from Arizona State University in 1984. During his research at ASU he successfully attained a patent on a potential anti-cancer compound & was instrumental in several other patents. His pursuit of education never stood in the way of his pursuit of fun & good times. He loved sports cars, sailing, riding horses, fencing (he was actually quite good & happy to tell you he was), debating, playing "Super Kitty" with Samantha & tormenting his nephews & nieces whom he dearly loved. To really understand Donnie, one of his well-known achievements was reading both the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica & Webster's dictionary from cover to cover. He was not a fun person to argue with.

Donnie intelligence, skills & talents were much in demand by bio science & pharmaceutical companies following his PhD attainment. Opportunities abounded & he took advantage of them in Columbus, Ohio, & Duluth, Minnesota before landing in Southern California in 1997. He worked for several companies here but resided in his dearly loved home in Oceanside. He loved his companion German Shepards whom he shared this home with. The Shepards were well trained & even known to allow visitors to sit on the furniture with them.

Donnie will also be remembered for his time & generosity to church & community. He was a lifetime Lutheran, most recently a member of "King of Kings" in Oceanside. Serving the homeless through Brother Benno's in Oceanside was a passion. He could be found doing anything from making sandwiches for the hungry to making quilts for hospices & women's shelters.

Donnie will be missed dearly by many. He leaves behind his sisters Janice Harrison & Ruth Swanty (Jeff), & brother Andy (Linda), and many nephews, nieces and other extended family members. He was pre-deceased by his parents Donald W. Gieschen & Jeanne Garon Gieschen.