Don Whitman loved people. He loved to talk and visit with anyone he met. He’d share many stories also, about the people he met, always positive. He felt people liked feeling a connection to others, as he did. In recent years, he earned the nickname “Dapper Don” on account he always attended events in button down shirt and tie, often with a sports jacket in tow, always ready for a celebration. Don pushed himself, to learn more, exercise more, and enjoy more dinner or cheer, when available!
Don grew up in Southern California, with his parents, Ellene (Fitzgerald) and Donald L. Whitman, and his sister, Mary, where he loved playing sports as a young child and teen. He spent important, youth forming years with his cherished, extended Fitzgerald side of the family in South Dakota before attending USF to earn a degree in philosophy. Hence his interest in talking! Don met his wife, Deborah (Kearby), during those pipe smoking (tobacco only!) college days of the 1960’s in San Francisco. He also became a loyal Giants fan during those years, an important legacy he passed on to his daughters. He later earned a Master’s degree in Business from St. Mary’s University, supporting his ambition in the early on blossoming electronics industry.
Time spent gardening, at sporting events, stage performances, or his grandchildren’s baseball or gymnastic events were a favorite way for Don to pass time. Don shared these passions with his family and friends. Don taught his daughters, Stephanie and Bernadette, to persevere through life’s hardest times. He often fought his own medical pains, brought on by a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes at age 18. Medical professionals would remark with amazement at how well he lived, for so long with such a disease; A testament to Don’s ferocious attitude of never give up!
Donald D. Whitman, born April 10, 1943, hung up his hat on his own performance on June 7, 2018, to join his eldest daughter, Stephanie, as well as other family members and friends, in a celebration in Heaven. A private ceremony has been held at the Mountain View Cemetery, in Piedmont, California, giving Don a final resting home looking over the San Francisco Bay so he can continue to cheer for his SF Giants. Please join the family for a celebration of life to be held August 18, 2018, 11:30 AM at Skate’s Restaurant at the Berkeley Marina. Wear your favorite sports team attire to honor Don’s passion for life and celebrations, as captured through sports. Donations can be made in Don’s memory to the American Diabetes Association, http://www.diabetes.org/donate/ , to help fund further research that Don experienced some benefit from.
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