Donald Williamson died on January 23, 2025, at his home overlooking the Umpqua River in Southern Oregon, a place he loved and shared with his wife Marica for nearly 35 years. Family and friends visited often to swim in the river, eat from their garden, and enjoy their welcoming company.
Don was born in Newburgh, New York, and grew up in Middlehope, in the beautiful Hudson Valley. Growing up, he used to swim the mile across the Hudson River and compete in ‘silver skate’ speed skating competitions. He was raised by and worked on his grandparents’ farm. Don was a fiercely independent child who loved nature and being outdoors. These qualities shaped and stayed with him throughout his life.
At 17, Don joined the Navy and served for over 12 years. He was in the Suez Canal crisis, Viet Nam, and traveled all over the world; Japan, Thailand, Guam, the Mediterranean, Gibraltar, and Europe. Don was a “Shellback”, a sailor who traveled across the equator and around Tierra del Fuego - the tip of South America. He served on three Air Craft Carriers; the Coral Sea, the Lexington, and the Shangri La. He loved the ocean and being at sea. Don would always tell the story of how being left-handed as a child, but forced to be right-handed, allowed him to become an exceptional ambidextrous handball player, a player who Colonels and other high-ranking military personnel sought out as a partner to win their matches. He believed he gained access to military educational and training programs, special assignments, and entrance to the officers' club, opportunities he otherwise may not have had, without his physical abilities.
Trained as an optical engineer in the military, he worked in the intelligence field first on the U-2 and SR71 programs managing all technical equipment of cameras, films, and interpreting retrieved images. After leaving the Navy, Don leveraged his experience as an optical engineer to become a civilian contractor working on classified programs in satellite reconnaissance systems at Edwards AFB, Vanden berg AFB, Moffit Field, Onizuka AFB (the Blue Cube), and others. He also worked on analyzing the Kennedy assassination films and later on the Hubble Space Telescope.
Don would say “If you want to prevent a war? Have good intelligence” “If you want to become anti-war…go to war”. He loved to show his ‘travel orders’ which allowed him to “go anyplace in the world, by any means or mode of transportation necessary”, traveling as a Colonel, when he was an enlisted man. His immunization record was also extensive and interesting, once being immunized against the bubonic plague. Don spent several years in Japan in the 1960s becoming fluent in Japanese. There he married his first wife, Akiko Tada. After returning to the U.S., they had two children, Homer Tamezo, and Tina May Williamson.
Don loved deep sea fishing and riding dirt bikes with his son. He loved spending time on the ocean, and in the 1970s lived on his fishing boat at Moss Landing in Monterey Bay. He loved to run, was a skilled martial artist, and played competitive racquetball and handball, often frustrating his opponents with the minimal exertion he required to beat them. Don was an expert target shooter traveling around the country to matches. Being fluent in Japanese he became a top national appraiser of Japanese swords reading and translating the writing on the sword blades to identify – era, maker, and use.
Don spent many years of his life in the San Francisco Bay Area living in Sunnyvale, Mt. View, and Santa Cruz. He met his second wife Dr. Marcia Hall on the track at De Anza Community College in Cupertino. Both would go on to San Jose State University together, and after 7 years of friendship were married in 1984, and stayed together 43 years. He remained married until his death, celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary last summer. We were fortunate in that we both loved and liked each other. Two of their favorite places were Yosemite and the Big Island of Hawaii. A favorite memory was driving through Yosemite Valley in the middle of winter, covered in snow in a convertible with the top down – a stunningly beautiful drive.
Don, Marcia, and her son Nicholas moved to Umpqua, Oregon in 1990 and bought a home overlooking the Main Umpqua River. It was here that Don also raised Nicholas after his father died. In retirement, Don put to use his “skills to fix or build anything”, remodeling their home, building a greenhouse, a barn, guest quarters, and more. Don was also a savvy, but fair-minded businessman, buying and selling estates, antiques, swords, and anything he could make a good deal on. Don had no tolerance for hypocrisy or violence against women or children. In retirement he became trained and volunteered as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) for children.
Most of all, Don loved German Shepherds, and had many throughout his adult life; Hans, Zaku, Laika, Zula, and Zeus were a few of his favorites. Don was one of the toughest people you would ever know, but also kind and soft-hearted. There is no child, dog, or old person who he wasn’t exceptionally kind to; he was widely loved in return. Although Don always said he didn’t care what other people thought of him, he always tried to do ‘the right thing’ in interactions with others. He was intelligent, intuitive, and had a pragmatism – beyond common sense. He had the unique ability to make you believe you could do things that you did not believe you could do yourself.
In 2011 Don had a life-altering stroke and later was diagnosed with Parkinsons. He struggled with his limitations, as he was fiercely independent. He was able to stay at the home he loved in Umpqua with his wife’s care. He left a lasting impression on everyone he met with his quick wit, and a treasure trove of sayings, quotations, and “Don-isms”.
He is survived by his wife Dr. Marcia Hall of Umpqua, Homer Williamson (Ann), Tina Williamson (Adam), Nicholas Noble (Melia), Jeanne Hales of NY, grandchildren Olivia, Trevor, Tesla, Ariana, and Lincoln, and great-granddaughter, Norah.
As his niece wrote to him at the end “They say that you always remember how people make you feel and you always made me feel special. You always had time to talk to me walk next to me down to the river or take me to town one-on-one. Thank You for always being so wonderful to me, you truly were one of a kind, and I’m very thankful that you were part of my life. I love you and I will really miss you”. She spoke the words for all of us who knew Don. He will be loved and missed forever.