Thursday, March 28, 2024

Obituary of Don Keller Vinson

Name of Deceased Don Keller Vinson
Age
Date of Death 06/23/2018
Date of Birth 08/17/1934
Funeral Home Mark D. Heintzelman Funeral and Cremation Service

Don K. Vinson [MGySgt (ret)], August 17, 1934, of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, loving husband, passed away at his home on June 23, 2018, after a life filled with service and with his wife Barbara Vinson at his side.

Born in Brazil, Indiana, Don was the third child of Kaye and Betty Vinson. He grew up in State College and helped from an early age at his parents’ store, Kaye’s Korner, which was located at the corner of Allen and Beaver. Don remembered with affection selling Sunday papers to community members eager for news long before the internet existed. As a young child, Don would travel by train some summers to visit his grandparents in St. Louis. This is the reason for his life-long love of the St. Louis Cardinals, who he followed with devotion and an impressive attention to details. Graduating from State College High in 1953, Don joined the Marine Corps in 1955, thus beginning his thirty-year career with the Marines. In 1960, Don married Johanna Gaal who he met while stationed in the Netherlands. As the spouse of a marine, she moved with him many times in support of his service. Some highlights include two years as a security guard at the US Embassy in The Hague and two years at the Pentagon National Command Center. In addition, he served in the Pacific area including Okinawa. His many ports of call included Korea, Hong Kong, Subic Bay, and Taiwan. During the United States War in Viet Nam, he served two tours.

He retired in Yuma, Arizona at the Marine Corps Air Station. After a year, he went to work for the recreation department at the base, staying there for twenty years. Locals would spot him riding his bike to the recreation center, and he enjoyed teaching swimming to many children at the center. An avid fitness buff, Don began jogging in the 1960s and biking in the 1970s. In the early 1980s, Don upped his swimming skills in order to compete in a tinman triathlon. Don once swam across San Diego Bay to Coronado Island in a station-to-station swimming competition. He took up tennis in his seventies and played regularly with Sunrise Tennis League through last fall.

After Johanna Gaal passed away, Don reconnected with his high school sweetheart, Charlotte Davis Clark, and they were married July 2006. Don was fond of saying they should “call State College Magnet Valley, not Happy Valley,” because it pulls people back toward it. That was the case with Charlotte and Don, who split their time together between Texas (where Charlotte’s children reside) in the wintertime and State College in the summer time. Charlotte passed away in October 2013.

In November 2014, Don attended church suppers where he met Barbara Sorisio. He recalled later being “in awe” of all she had accomplished and experienced in her life. Both were amazed to be lucky enough to fall in love again. They were married November 27, 2015. Although they did not have as much time as they had hoped for, they made good use of it—traveling to places such as Germany, the Netherlands, and South America. They enjoyed socializing and one another’s quiet company.

Don was a member of Park Forest Village United Methodist Church and the State College Kiwanis Club. He truly enjoyed volunteering. Every Penn State football game, one could find him working the pretzel station in Beaver Stadium at the church’s concession stand; every fall he’d help deliver pounds of apples for the church’s apple pie making; and, every spring he’d be surrounded by blueberries for the Kiwanis’s blueberry sale. He was also a dedicated Special Olympics volunteer in Yuma and State College.

In addition to his wife Barbara, he is survived by his sister, Pat Gearhart, and her husband Jerry Gearhart of State College; his nephew Dr. Cary Gearhart and his wife Jennifer of Massachusetts; and, his niece Holly Schweikert and her husband Steve of Arizona. He was predeceased by his brother Ward Vinson and his niece Jan Gearhart.

Services will be held at the Park Forest Village United Methodist Church, 1833 Park Forest Ave, State College, on Saturday, June 30. Visitation will be from 9:30-10:30. A memorial service will follow at 11:00. After the service, lunch will be served. All friends and family are welcome. Burial will be private and at the convenience of the family.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Special Olympics (Pennsylvania or Arizona), Schlow Centre Region Library, Park Forest Village United Methodist Church Park, or a charity of your choice.

An online guestbook will be signed and condolences sent to the family at www.heintzelmanfuneralhome.com.