Remembering Don Floyd — American

Ronald Reagan once said, “There are heroes all around us if we will only look.” To our way of thinking Don Floyd was one of those heroes.

When wounded veterans from the Naval Hospital needed an outdoor experience there was Don and Carol Floyd helping to produce a weekend our warriors would never forget. They did this for years.

While the veterans were shooting pheasants at Bill Claverie’s ranch, attending the Brawley Rodeo, being hosted at Barbara Worth and overall having a great time, you would look over at the sidelines...and there would be Don Floyd, the main mover, out of the spotlight, chewing on an ever-present cigar and planning the next event.

When California Supreme Court Justice Rose Bird and her two liberal associates were repeatedly refusing to enforce the death penalty for convicted murderers, It was Don Floyd, traveling up and down the State who helped initiate the movement that led to the defeat of Justice Bird and two of her fellow “Supremes” in the 1986 elections. Don Floyd was the main mover at the grassroots level who helped organize the group “Crime victims for Court Reform”, which was made up of the families of crime victims. The movement had an enormous effect on California voters who defeated Justice Bird by a vote of 67 percent to 33 percent.

And when kids from a needy family showed up in Boulevard without socks when the Floyd’s were delivering food to them, the Floyds went shopping...not just for socks but every other type of clothing the kids could use.

When Don was the manager of a Babe Ruth team, and he came aware of a Blythe kid, Terry Whitfield, with a talent for baseball, Blythe visited Terry’s family and convinced them to let Terry play for Don’s team, and live with Don’s family during the season. Don then put Terry, a power hitter, at the top of the line-up so that the big league scouts who were attending games would see him at the plate more often. Terry was seen, picked up by the big leagues and enjoyed a remarkable career. During Don’s last days of illness, Terry called him with words of thanks.

Don Floyd was the type of conservative who made America great. He was totally opposed to big government but had a big heart for the unfortunate. He had a keen intellect and could give a total analysis of such government-subsidized projects as wind farms. “These folks who want to shut down the petroleum industry don’t understand the thousands of products that are made with oil”, he would say. Don would then produce a list with dozens of the most essential American products with an oil-based component. He had that “Oklahoma” common sense.

Don Floyd lived and breathed politics. He never asked for anything from government except freedom. In every conversation we ever had with him, his only interest was the good of the country. “If you can’t stand behind our troops, stand in front of them!” This sign on Don’s vehicle was seen by thousands of folks during the Iraq wars. He handed out hundreds of bumper strips with the same message.

We both enjoyed Don’s help during our political careers in dozens of campaign events that he sponsored. But more importantly, we profited from his common-sense ideas on

Freedom, national defense, and the economy.

We know a lot of folks are reflecting on Don’s friendship these days since his passing.

Everyone has his own Don Floyd stories. He was wise, patriotic, funny, and always ready to help a good cause.

He considered his hay business,

San Jacinto Hay, which operated in Imperial Valley for decades, as simply a platform for community projects, political campaigns and good works in general. He had arrived in the Valley as a kid from Oklahoma, played quarterback for Brawley, worked hard and always tried to make politics work for the good of the people.

We know that we will never again hear that familiar phone greeting. “What are you doing, man!” That is, until we are joined in Christ.

Duncan Lee Hunter is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California’s 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009. His son, Duncan Duane Hunter, is a former U.S. Marine who served as a U.S. Representative for California’s 50th congressional district from 2013 to 2020.