Roll Call Tribute
Robert Donald Jr. '62 July 23, 2019 2:50 PM updated: July 23, 2019 2:53 PM
White Family Funeral Home obituary
1418 Highway 59 North
Bowie, Texas 76230
Phone: 940-872-9993
Fax: 940-872-5949
Robert Donald
Robert Calvin Donald Jr., 79, passed away on June 11th, 2019.
Funeral service will be at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, June 17, 2019 at the First Presbyterian Church in Bowie, TX with Pastor Joe Gambill officiating.
Burial will follow at Elmwood Cemetery in Bowie..
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
Robert was born on January 13th, 1940 in Sunset, Texas. He was the only child of his parents Robert Calvin Donald Sr. and Estelle Catlin Donald. He attended the Sunset school until the 8th grade at which point all students moved to Bowie High School, where he graduated in 1958.
He grew up taking care of cows and horses on the Donald ranch. He met his wife of 56 years at Bowie School, Mary Nell Kirby Donald, they were married on January 28th, 1961 in Bowie. He attended Texas A&M University from 1958 until 1962, graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering. They had their first child, James Larry Donald on October 11, 1962 in Houston, Texas.
His first job in Houston was working for Haliburton. That company was purchased by Texas Instruments a couple of years later and in 1967 he was transferred to TI in Dallas, TX. His second son was born on April 21st, 1968, Robert William Donald. He worked on equipment that would detect oil at the bottom of the ocean and traveled to several countries to test out the equipment, including Honduras, Singapore and Africa where he would be on large freighters for weeks at a time testing the equipment. His hobbies consisted of sailing and ham radios.
The family lived in Richardson, Texas until 1978, upon his father’s passing, he decided to manage the Donald Ranch and moved back to Sunset, Texas. During that time, he held jobs at Poco Graphite in Decatur as well as Moore Supply Co. in Denton, but his next big career change was getting his teaching certificate and teaching at the school in Forestburg, TX, specializing in math and computer science for grades 6 through 12. He retired from teaching in the early 2000s and focused on his cattle raising activities until his passing.
He and his wife attended the First Presbyterian Church of Bowie since 1978 and his wife passed in February of 2017.
He is survived by his eldest son Larry and wife Lori, in Decatur, his son Bill in Bangkok, Thailand.
Grandchildren Karl and wife Sarah of Decatur, Cassie and husband Shaun and great-grandchild Evan of Sasche, Kelsea and husband Lance and great-grandchildren Ashlyn and Autumn of Decatur and James of Decatur. He has cousins James, Laura, Karen and William Catlin that survive him.
1418 Highway 59 North
Bowie, Texas 76230
Phone: 940-872-9993
Fax: 940-872-5949
Robert Donald
Robert Calvin Donald Jr., 79, passed away on June 11th, 2019.
Funeral service will be at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, June 17, 2019 at the First Presbyterian Church in Bowie, TX with Pastor Joe Gambill officiating.
Burial will follow at Elmwood Cemetery in Bowie..
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 16, 2019 at the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
Arrangements entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home of Bowie.
Robert was born on January 13th, 1940 in Sunset, Texas. He was the only child of his parents Robert Calvin Donald Sr. and Estelle Catlin Donald. He attended the Sunset school until the 8th grade at which point all students moved to Bowie High School, where he graduated in 1958.
He grew up taking care of cows and horses on the Donald ranch. He met his wife of 56 years at Bowie School, Mary Nell Kirby Donald, they were married on January 28th, 1961 in Bowie. He attended Texas A&M University from 1958 until 1962, graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering. They had their first child, James Larry Donald on October 11, 1962 in Houston, Texas.
His first job in Houston was working for Haliburton. That company was purchased by Texas Instruments a couple of years later and in 1967 he was transferred to TI in Dallas, TX. His second son was born on April 21st, 1968, Robert William Donald. He worked on equipment that would detect oil at the bottom of the ocean and traveled to several countries to test out the equipment, including Honduras, Singapore and Africa where he would be on large freighters for weeks at a time testing the equipment. His hobbies consisted of sailing and ham radios.
The family lived in Richardson, Texas until 1978, upon his father’s passing, he decided to manage the Donald Ranch and moved back to Sunset, Texas. During that time, he held jobs at Poco Graphite in Decatur as well as Moore Supply Co. in Denton, but his next big career change was getting his teaching certificate and teaching at the school in Forestburg, TX, specializing in math and computer science for grades 6 through 12. He retired from teaching in the early 2000s and focused on his cattle raising activities until his passing.
He and his wife attended the First Presbyterian Church of Bowie since 1978 and his wife passed in February of 2017.
He is survived by his eldest son Larry and wife Lori, in Decatur, his son Bill in Bangkok, Thailand.
Grandchildren Karl and wife Sarah of Decatur, Cassie and husband Shaun and great-grandchild Evan of Sasche, Kelsea and husband Lance and great-grandchildren Ashlyn and Autumn of Decatur and James of Decatur. He has cousins James, Laura, Karen and William Catlin that survive him.
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