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Oakes, Donald Charles
Donald Charles Oakes, 82, of Clinton, Ark., died Monday, July 20, 2009, at Ozark Health Nursing Center of Clinton. Inurnment committal services are pending at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home.
He was born Oct. 9, 1926, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Harley and Hulda (Garrison) Oakes. Don was raised in Linn County, Iowa, where he attended a one-room grade school and Wilson secondary school. At the age of 17, he joined the Marine Corps and was a combat veteran with the 9th Regiment, 3rd Division on Iwo Jima. He worked over 24 years for Cedar Rapids Engineers and Water Department, retiring in 1981 to Arkansas, where he enjoyed building and flying ultralite planes. After a 2003 crash resulting in severe lung impairment, his health declined.
Don is survived by his wife, Phyllis M. Sponar Oakes; stepchildren, Gary Zumwalt (Delores) of Texas, David Zumwalt of Malvern, Ark., and Phyllis Bentson (Larry) of Minnesota; several grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and a brother, Phillip (Annalee), and three nieces, all of Washington.
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