Donald Donaldson

DONALD S. DONALDSON

Cedar Rapids

Donald S. Donaldson, 72, of Cedar Rapids, went to be with his Lord on Monday, July 24, 2017. Services: 1 p.m. Aug. 12, Hope Evangelical Church, North Liberty, where visitation will be from 11:30 a.m. to service time. Graveside service: 9:30 a.m. Aug. 12, at Cono Cemetery, Walker.

Survivors include his brothers, John Fenton and James Schulert; a sister, Carolyn Long; a brother-in-law, Lloyd Long; and his sisters-in-law, Robbie Donaldson, Donna Fenton and Jackie Schulert. He was preceded in death by his father, LaVerne Donaldson; mother, Louise Donaldson; brother, Charlie Donaldson; brother, George Fenton; and sister-in-law, RuthAnn Fenton.

Donald Sanford Schulert was born Dec. 11, 1944, in Ypsilanti, Mich. He was the fifth child of Walter and Rosalie Schulert. When Don was 1½, his mother died in childbirth. His father died 10 months later. In August 1947, he and two siblings were adopted by his aunt Louise and uncle LaVerne Donaldson. His name was changed to Donald Donaldson.

The Donaldsons were missionaries in Palestine and the children moved there in 1947. During the 1948 Arab/Jewish war, the family was evacuated to Cyprus, where they lived for 1½ years. They returned to the Holy Land in 1949 and lived in Bethlehem, The West Bank, which was then part of the Kingdom of Jordan. The 1956 war between Egypt and Israel caused the Donaldsons to return to the states.

When his parents returned to Jordan in 1959, Don was sent to Cono Christian School in Walker, where he was the first-ever boarding student. Don worked in the Cono print shop, handling the paper cutting and the automatic folding machine.

After graduating from Cono in 1963, Don entered Covenant College, graduating in 1967. He completed one year of graduate school at Colorado State University before being drafted. He enlisted in the Navy and served on active duty four years. Later he joined the Naval Reserves and served in the Reserves for 16 years.

Following active duty in the Navy, Don returned to Cono and taught for six years. He was chief engineer of the Cono Educational Network, an early attempt at electronic distance learning. Starting in 1980, he served as a board member for many years.

In 1979, he took a job at Rockwell Collins working as an electrical engineer until he retired in 2006.

Don loved the Lord and served Him faithfully. He was a member of the Bible Presbyterian Church in Walker for many years. He taught Sunday school and sang in the choir and was well known for bringing homemade bread to church dinners. Don served as an elder from 1986 to 2012. He was Stated Clerk for the Iowa Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America from 2005 to 2012. He also served for several years as a part of the Review of Presbytery Records Committee for the denomination.

For the last five years, he was a member at Hope Evangelical Church in North Liberty. Memorials may be directed to Hope Evangelical Church, North Liberty.