Donald Ivor MacLeod
Born, February 5th, 1950 - Died, December 25th, 2022 Donald passed away due to complications caused by COVID. Don was born in Berkeley and grew up in Oakland, where he became a die-hard Raiders and A’s fan. After high school he attend Laney Jr. College where he met his soul mate-Susan. They transferred to Chico State college and received their teaching credentials.
They were married on June 9th, 1973. They longed to live by the ocean again, they chose Eureka. Once there, they decided that they would live, work and retire in Humboldt County. It turned out there were no teaching positions available so Don went into a field he knew well-automotives, which he turned into a career.
Don and Sue wanted to travel and they also wanted to see Halley’s Comet. They researched the best place to view it and chose Australia. They took an astronomy class and a photography class to prepare for the trip. Their astronomy professor and his wife met with them in Sydney to give them their camera tracking devise for the night shots. While in Sydney Don and Sue had dinner at the Opera House and then took in the Peter, Paul and Mary Concert and they were amazing. They next headed to Mt. Tarana Observatory in Bathhurst and met with Colin Bembrick, who would take them to the viewing site for the next 3 nights. After that they continued on to New Zealand and ended their trip in Fiji.
A few years later Sue’s brother David planned a family trip. It started in England where they got to visit Stonehenge, then took a ferry trip to the Isle of Lewis in Scotland to spend time with Don’s Family. On one of the nights they drove out to see the Standing Stones of Callanish by moonlight. Next they went to Cairo Egypt to see the pyramids of Giza and also to see the Great Sphinx. They then took a night train to Aswan. There they traveled to see Abu Simbel.
They also traveled to Luxor to go to the Valley of the Kings, the tomb of King Tutankhamun and the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. They wrapped up the trip in Paris where good food and champagne brought them back to life. It was December, and the Christmas decoration in Paris were magical, as was the Eiffel Tower.
Don and Sue bought a house in Arcata. It was an old bungalow-built in 1919. It was set on about a 1/2 acre and had a large natural pond. Two weeks before they moved to their new home they adopted 2 Great-Dane puppies from a local shelter and had a kennel built by the pond for they adopted 17 ducks. Their one cat soon grew to 5 wonderful cats.
Their last big trip took them to the Netherlands. They road the train to Bern, a beautiful town with wonderful people. Their next stops were to Interlaken, Zermatt and Geneva. Don’s favorite part was this small hotel in Zermatt where their room had a large window with a magnificent view of the Matterhorn. They took lots of pictures. Don thought he Matterhorn at dusk was the most beautiful sight on the whole trip.
When Don and Sue bought their final home in Eureka it was a small house but on a large piece of property. They had the yard fenced and then went to the local shelter and adopted an Australian mix puppy named Shelby.
Don’s final years were filled with wonderful daily walks with Shelby in the Sequoia Zoo Park area. They met many kind people and beautiful dogs who got to know the tall man with Shelby who always brought extra biscuits to share with them.
To all Don’s beloved family members and his cherished friends I thank you for helping Don enjoy a wonderful life.
"And though you want to live forever, you know you never will goodbyes make the journey harder still." Until were together again my love---Susan