Carol, I’m so sorry for your loss. I will also miss my buddy Don for the rest of my days. I have many wonderful memories of our relationship in the early days!

The times that Don studied with me in 1963 from the book Paradise Lost. The day he took me to his mother‘s house when the two of you were still dating in 1963. The Banana Split that he bought me in Mt. Morris when the two of you first got married with money that he discreetly borrowed out of the money jar at your Mt. Morris apartment in 1963! My conversations with Don in 1969 when he told me that I should move to Pinconning to Pioneer with Sam and Terry. Don knew that I did not have a car at the time. He knew that I did not have a job at the time and he also knew that I did not have much money at the time. Don was correct, I probably only had $35 to my name in my pocket at the time that I saved up from the first job I ever had in my life (a summer landscaping job) at age 16!

Don told me to have trust and everything would work out if I would move to Pinconning to Pioneer. Don was correct regarding everything he promised.

I remember the day that I arrived in Pinconning in February of 1969, (Bill Smith drove me up there.) I remember staying in your attic the first seven days that I was there & the meals and conversations that I shared with you and my buddy Don at the dinner table. Don made sure that Terri, Sam and I, (the three Pinconning pioneers) had a small cozy rental house to live in so that we could spread the word in Pinconning, Michigan.

I remember the old building that served as a temporary kingdom Hall in Pinconning, Michigan in 1969 when I first arrived there before we constructed the new Kingdom Hall. Don invited me to the annual organizational meeting for the Kingdom Hall that is required by law. It made me feel so important to be invited. (I was only 17 at the time!) I recall that we congregated in the back room of a shabby temporary Kingdom Hall and we sat on wooden whiskey cases during the annual organization meeting. Regarding the wooden   whiskey cases that we sat on, I recall Don‘s laughter when he said “I’m sure Jehovah will understand and not mind“! I recall helping Don, Jim Tucker and Al Smith drywall the new kingdom Hall in Pinconning, Michigan in 1969.

I remember Don giving me the second job I ever had in my life in 1969 working in drywall. Don taught me a skill that allowed me to make a living. The Porter’s gave me the first car that I ever owned in my life. A few months later Don sold me his 1963 Chevy at a great price. When work got slow and Don was reluctantly forced to lay me off it was Don that was kind enough to let Al Smith know that I was out of work and as a result I worked with Al Smith for several years.

These are cherished memories that will stay with me for the rest of my days! I will miss my buddy Don! My buddy Don  will continue to live in my mind’s eye into perpetuity!I think of him often!

Don’s buddy forever!

March, 18, 2022

J Marshall Schoonover