What a beautiful obituary for Don.  What a wonderful man he was!  We are so saddened by his loss, but so glad that he was surrounded by his loving family at the time of his passing. We hold our memories of him so dear.  

The thing about Don (and Mary !) that we cherish so much is how we always had FUN when we were around him.  He always had a twinkle in his eye, a laugh, a smile on his face.  He TRULY ENJOYED LIFE, and he was fun to be around!  

There are so many memories to share.  Here are a few that make us smile. 

The vegetables and flowers he and Mary grew in their garden in Berthoud, CO were absolutely amazing.  He once grew what he called "Gourdville" with gourd plants that grew hanging from a tunnel of wire.  Our boys thought it was fantastic!  Then he and Mary gave us the gourds to dry and make birdhouses. We improvised a bit and painted them; they now have a place of honor in our living room.  Another memory I have with Don is walking through his garden and he snapped off a piece of broccoli and handed it to me. I told him it was the best broccoli and had eaten in my life. He looked at me, his eyes widened and he whispered, "Brooke, that broccoli is still ALIVE!"  Yum!

We celebrated holidays with them including Easter, when they made homemade egg dye from plants(!!) and Christmas dinner, which involved Will riding adults like a horse in the living room while they played a Lego game... (?) There may have been some cocktails involved in that one!

Cinco de mayo Grandparent baby shower for them in our backyard while the lilac was blooming.

Listening to stories of the times the Dwyers lived in Saudi, including their description of a camel race.

Other fun memories from the kids:

From Will:  his Donald Duck voice!  Going to the awesome sculpture garden in Loveland, CO.  Catching toads in the backyard (Berthoud) after a rainstorm. Eating a fistful of fresh lettuce and spinach at the Altius Farms greenhouse in Denver. Catching a praying mantis in his garden. Eating cheesecake with him on my birthday (he loved cheesecake too). 

From Max:  The greenhouse in Denver was awesome.  I loved playing with Deja, their dog.  I loved riding the horses Peaches and Candy.  Once he made us a homemade peach pie that was so delicious!

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We are sending love to all the Dwyers.  We will donate to the ALS foundation in his honor.  

Love from The Colorado Weinbergers:  Brooke, Cyrus, Max and Will

Don pursued his passions personally and professionally.  He leaves a legacy felt by so many throughout the world, even those he never met.

We will miss seeing you but will always carry a part of you within us. Live on!

Love to you Don and Mary Forever. Steve and Ann

Dear Mary and family,

I am so sorry to hear of your tremendous loss. The obituary is a beautiful tribute to Don. What an amazing life he led. I am holding you all in my heart and sending love as you navigate this difficult time. ❤️

Mary and family,

I never had the pleasure of knowing your Don. I can see from pictures he was a joy and full of fun and love. I am heart broken for you all. I am also happy he was with you all in life. Sending love.

I knew that Don was special, but, truly I did not know how special — what an amazing legacy to leave behind for those of us looking for inspiration and pathways forward.  Love to the all of the Dwyer family - may your legacy live on.

A special memory - during one of our bi-annual visits to John and Becky’s home, my loving husband Alex had asked that I shave his back and chest outside behind their shade house, away from an audience and wind.  Moments later Don joined us behind the shade house and requested that his back and chest be shaved too  — authentic and funny, he was a free spirit!

The second time I met Bugs was up in Montana at his cabin on the creek (was that Big Fork) with Gwen Stodieck. We had so much fun cooking, playing Music (Don) and fishing ( I was a novice and he was so patient) 

But one that I will cherish most is the last time I saw him in October. He told so many stories that I had never heard before and we laughed so hard at most of them! I am so lucky to have had that time with him and his smile will be what I remember most about him. 

Rest in Peace Don ❣️