Donald Wayne Travis, 78 of Sandy Springs, Georgia, went home to be with Jesus on Thursday June 26th. Don had a long battle with an inherited disease known as Huntington's Disease or HD. The family has been so grateful to read the heartwarming notes from people who recall what a warm, friendly, funny and caring person he was.
Don was born on March 30th, 1947 in Atlanta Georgia. In the summer of 1963, his family moved to Sandy Springs from Decatur, where he attended Sandy Springs High School and met his future wife Jody Gray. He graduated in 1965 and went on to attend University of West Georgia. In 1968, he married Jody and also decided that due to the reinstated draft, he would enlist in the Air Force. This was done in the hope of avoiding being sent to Viet Nam. His luck held at first and he and Jody enjoyed eighteen months on the island of Crete. This is when their first daughter, Christy, was born in 1969. At the end of his tour, Don got orders to go to Viet Nam. He served a year there and then came home to work for C&S Bank while taking night classes to finish school, at Georgia State University. Later he joined his father's business, Southeastern Hose Inc.
Two more daughters were born: Katie in 1975 and Paige in 1978. The family joined Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in the early eighties. There were challenges to be faced, the HD would bring even more but their faith grew with their challenges. Don loved Jesus and his family more than anything. He became "Pappy" to nine amazing grandchildren; Josh, Justin, Jack, Sam, Olivia, Abe, Wyatt, Victor and Christian. In the past year and a half he became "Great Pappy" to three great grandsons; Noah, Bennett and Callum.
A celebration of Don's life is planned for Friday, July 25th at 1:00 pm at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church in Sandy Springs, GA.
The family requests in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Huntington's Disease Society of America. https://hdsa.org
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