Donald Patrick Heacox

Donald Patrick Heacox, a devoted father and 20 year veteran of the United States Navy, passed away on October 29, 2025, in Carmichael, California, at age 71. Born on September 24, 1954, in Inglewood, California, Don dedicated his life to service, family, and the simple joys of tinkering, storytelling, and caring for animals.

Don served with distinction as a nuclear power plant technician, spending most of his naval career aboard the USS Enterprise and also serving on the USS Kitty Hawk and USS Carl Vinson. He concluded his military service at Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity (SIMA) in Alameda, California. After retiring from the Navy, Don briefly owned a small appliance repair business, finding satisfaction in taking things apart to understand how they worked and putting them back together even better than before.

He loved ducks, cats, camping and fishing, and could happily spend hours talking about anything and everything—an archetype of tech and obscure fact verbosity, always seeming to know just a bit more than he should—leaving an indelible impression on everyone he met. From 1994 until 2025, he made his home in Balch Springs, Texas, and cheered faithfully for the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys. He supported a cat rescue in Ohio dedicated to cats with Cerebellar Hypoplasia, reflecting his lifelong compassion for animals.

Don was preceded in death by his first wife and the mother of his children, Debé Lynn; his second wife, Sylvia; his parents, Charles Ernest and Ila Jean (née Lehmer); and his son, Matthew David. He is survived by his stepdaughter, Maryann Fajardo, and his son, Brian Heacox.

Following cremation, Don will be interred and memorialized in the Hall of Heroes at Mount Vernon Memorial Park, alongside his wife, Debé.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Don’s memory to Friends of Felines’ Rescue Center's Cerebellar Hypoplasia program (fofrescue.org/ch/).

Fair winds and following seas.