ARCTIC

Kenton in northern Michigan. (Don always claimed that they didn’t make them any more like they did in ’34.) On Saturday 28 July 1979 while enroute to the Northwest Territories, the auto which Don was driving collided with another vehicle just outside Peace River, Alberta. Don was dead before an ambulance could arrive at the scene while the other 11 involved in the accident sustained minor injuries. Don was the eldest of 11 children and spent his early years in close contact with the outdoors. His grandfather was locally renowned for outwitting game-law enforcers and later was asked by the state to become Michigan’s first Game Warden (a prudent move since he knew all the tricks). Don was often stolen from school by his grandfather and taken hunting for several days to weeks without his parent’s knowledge. During 1950-52 he worked as a hunting and fishing guide in northern Michigan, and in 1952-53 served as a Marine Ranger with the United States Marine Corps in the Korean conflict. It was in the service that he complete