Lieutenant Colonel Donald W. Christian, USAF Retired of Memphis, TN passed away on April 4, 2023. He is survived by his son, Wayne A. Christian (fiancee’ Marianne Brown), daughter Pamela C. Wilkins (Gary), granddaughter Julia Conway (Cody) and step-granddaughter Katy O’Connor (Patrick and daughter Claire). His beloved wife Joan Jacquelyn (Jackie) predeceased him in 2014 after 62 wonderful years of marriage.
Col. Christian was a loving, funny and stalwart husband and father. He was born in Bardstown, KY and subsequently lived in Illinois and Arizona during his childhood. He graduated from Mesa Union High School in Arizona, attended Arizona State University and the University of Arizona and graduated from the University of Nebraska in Omaha.
Col. Christian served in the U.S. Air Force for 22 years as a bomber pilot and flying instructor, flying the B-50, KB-29, B-47 and most notably, B-52 bombers. Luckily, he was assigned to Lakenheath Air Force Base in England, where he met his English Rose Jackie. Thereafter he flew 120 combat missions over Vietnam in the B-52s, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Silver Oak Leaf Cluster for his Air Medal. In January 1966, Betsy Halstead, a reporter with the United Press International and the first female reporter to do so, accompanied Col. Christian and his crew on a bombing mission over Vietnam. After he retired from the Air Force, Col. Christian continued to fly civil aviation aircraft, and in 2005, the Federal Aviation Administration awarded him the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50+ years of safe flying.
Col. Christian was a devout and active member of St. Andrews Episcopal Church, where he was a member and past president of the Men’s Club. He also served as a Lay Eucharistic Minister and as a member and Senior Warden of the vestry.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 29 at 2:00 PM, at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 106 Walnut Street, Collierville, TN 38017.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MemphisFuneralPoplar.com for the Christian family.
