A gathering of friends and family will be held 12:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Friday, November 6, 2020 at Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel. Committal services featuring military honors will follow in Fort Jackson National Cemetery at 3:00 p.m.
A native of Springfield, IL, he was born January 3, 1935 to Donald Albert and Sara Elizabeth Ragland Eggleston.
As a young boy, Don spent his summers in Missouri where he discovered his great love for the outdoors and honed his skills in fishing and hunting that became his lifelong passion. One of the greatest joys of his life was sharing this passion with his sons and later on his grandsons, who affectionately referred to him as Captain Papa. He will be remembered for his fervor for life; he was determined, soft spoken man, he was a perfectionist, he had a great sense of humor and dry wit. DW was deeply patriotic and served his country proudly in the United States Navy, spending 4 years aboard the USS Segundo SS 398 based out of San Diego and in the Pacific Theater. He also served 4 years as a reservist and later on in life volunteered with many organizations to help fellow veterans, their families and our community.
Don was a 1962 graduate of University of Missouri, where he earned Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering. After college, he worked in electrical manufacturing for eight years. He then began his career with Duke Power, where he spent 25 years as Manager of Distribution, Metering, Engineering, and Operations out of Charlotte. During this time, he served a term on the National Chairman of Edison Institute serving Metering and Service Committee. In 1991, he retired from Duke Power to begin his own company where he provided meter and load testing for about 4 years. After that, he became a professional Striped Bass fishing guide on Lake Murray for about 15 years. Here he took great pride volunteering with Wounded Warriors, where he helped to sponsor therapeutic fishing trips. DW was an original and very active member of the United States Submarines Veterans Inc., Palmetto Base, where he served in various positions, most recently as the club’s Newspaper Editor.
In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by his brother Stephen Eggleston and his former wife and mother of his children, Donna Canham Eggleston. Survivors include his wife of 36 years, Lyla Brown Eggleston; sons, Lee Eggleston (Debra) and family; Scott and Don Eggleston; Timothy Eggleston (Christina) and family; Chelsey Church (Aaron), Steven Osborne; sister, Betty Ruth Clark and sister-in-law, Dot Eggleston.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or to Wounded Warriors Project.
Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18