So much can be said about Donald and his charming outlook on life. A tribute to the joy he brought others was that Doris would wake up singing everyday until his illness.
He was my "Dad" as well as my husband's. He was there for me, to alugh with, cry with, and just to sit together, spending quiet time. He always made it known that he loved us all, and always thought of us. Even on a vacation he would call just to say hello.
When he became ill (he died of cancer), he would call me from the hospital just to hear my voice. From the first day I met him, whenever he saw me or talked to me on the phone, (yes, even thousands of miles away) he would say "You're looking beautiful, sweetheart". It still brings tears to my eyes to think of his calls from the hospital. I can still hear his voice.
Don, it was an honor to know you and be counted among the people you loved.
Doris was an artist of the highest calibur. She was ranked among the 10 best in the state of Minnesota, was offered an opportunity to take her art to a show in Japan (the logistics prevented her attending), taught art in Minnesota for several years, and was a standard at the Uptown Art Fair in Minneapolis. Much of her art was lost to us when she died, and her second husband removed it, but a few paintings are in our possesion.
She was married to Donald Hilmanowski in 1946. She had 7 pregnancies, and of those only Donald II survived. She was a warm loving lady with a great sense of humor, and a mother to me (Delora) as no other has ever been.