Donald Martinson

DONALD GEORGE MARTINSON

Cedar Rapids

2/21/1916 12/5/2016

Donald George Martinson, a resident of Wellshire at Balfour in Louisville, Colo., passed away peacefully on Dec. 5, 2016, at age 100. Born Feb. 21, 1916, in Albert Lea, Minn., the only child of Fred and Hazel (King) Martinson, Don's gentle manner and sense of humor survived his physical decline.

In 1930, Don was awarded his Eagle Scout badge by Rear Admiral Richard Byrd at a regional event in Sioux Falls, S.D. Don graduated from Albert Lea High School in 1933, and then attended Mankato Commercial College. He worked for Wilson & Co. in Detroit and in Wausau, Wis., until January 1942, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps. After serving as master sergeant at the Liverpool, England, port of imbarkation/embarkation, Don returned to the Quartermaster General Officer Candidate School in Fort Washington, Md. He was appointed second lieutenant (later captain) and assigned to an Army Air Corps heavy bomber group stationed in Italy. Don also was a longtime officer in the Air Force Reserve, retiring in 1976 as lieutenant colonel.

After the war, Don returned to Albert Lea and, in August 1946, married his high school classmate, Alice Sund. Don managed two independent lumberyards until they were sold to conglomerates, Bertelson Lumber in Albert Lea and then Hatch and Brookman in Cedar Rapids. Don then became a pricing administrator for Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids, working on projects that included the guidance and communications systems for NASA's Gemini and Apollo programs.

Don and Alice rarely traveled outside the Midwest, but they did join son-in-law Tom and family in Stockholm for the 1989 Nobel festivities. In 1992, Don and Alice moved to Sun City, Ariz. Alice died in Sun City on Dec. 27, 1997. Don then joined the Sun City (Maricopa County) Sheriff's Posse, retiring in 2010 at age 94. He moved to Boulder, Colo., in 2011 to be near his daughter and family.

Surviving Don are sons, Reid (Rosie) and Lee (Lucy Payne) of Minnesota; daughter, Carol Cech (Tom) of Boulder, Colo.; grandchildren, Allison (Jason), Jennifer, Alec, Erin, Ryan, Jenna, Anna and Erik; and one great-grandchild born a century after Don.

In addition to his wife, Alice, in 1997, Don was predeceased by a daughter, Lisa, in 1974.

Don requested no memorial. Ashes will be scattered in Minnesota, joining those of his wife, Alice.

Family may be contacted at martinsonfamily100@gmail.com.