Don Dillon Sr. was born in El Centro, California, the only child of Floyd and Mildred (Shawver) Dillon. He attended Shorewood High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1943, he graduated from Stanford University and married his college sweetheart, Mary Ann Walker. He is survived by his wife of 71 years, his 3 children, 6 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.
Don served as an officer with the US Navy in WWII and Korea, aboard Destroyer Escorts in the Atlantic and the Pacific, and in the Navel Reserves retiring as a Commander.
He joined his father, Floyd, in the citrus nursery business in 1950's in Ventura. They moved Four Winds Growers to Mission San Jose in 1954. He was a leader in numerous nursery organizations including; the Saratoga Horticulture Research Foundation, the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers and the International Plant Propagators. He embraced the IPPS motto "Seek and Share".
Don wanted to be remembered as the "Formerly Honorable Mayor of the City of Fremont" where he served as Mayor for 5 years of his 16 years on the City Council. He worked with other community leaders on numerous projects, including implementing Fremont's General Plan, planning Ohlone Junior College, developing funding for the 400 acre Central Park and Lake Elizabeth. He served as President of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), the Alameda Creek-Coyote Hills Joint Agency, and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Don was actively involved with many other pursuits for the benefit of the community. He was known for his energy, enthusiasm, problem solving and consensus building. He loved the Friendship Force and volunteering at the Friendship Forest at Prusch Park in San Jose. He and Mary Ann volunteered at the Japanese garden at Shinn Park in Fremont and the Historic Garden League in Monterey. He had many adventures with friends in "the kite flying group." Don was very active in the Niles Rotary. The Rotarian "Four Way Test" and "Service above Self" were a more than mottos for Don; they were a way of life.
For more visit thepaulmortuary.com
In lieu of flowers, donations in his honor can be made to the Niles Rotary Foundation PO Box 7104 Fremont, CA 94537, C.A.N.E.R.S. (cangc.org) or Historic Garden League.
Memorial Service to be held March 14, 11:00 A.M. Centerville Presbyterian Church, 4360 Central Ave, Fremont CA

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Feb. 25 to Mar. 1, 2015.

Memories and Condolences
for Don Dillon

8 Entries

Jennifer Roberts

March 11, 2015

We had a Meyer lemon tree in the front yard of our home on Jackson Street...my parents said it was a gift from Don...and that he had given citrus plants to others in the neighborhood too. I also remember riding in the back of a pickup track in a campaign parade of some sort for him. My parents obviously liked and admired him.

March 9, 2015

Mayor Dillon was the kind of quality individual, leader, teacher and model for what a government official should be. May he and his family be blessed and his memory be preserved.

David Jinkens
South Lake Tahoe, CA

Marjorie LaBar

March 1, 2015

I remeber Mayor Dillon encouraging my interest in government. I continued to have pleasant memories every time I watered my dwarf citrus tree. My best to the Dillon family.

Julie Regan

February 28, 2015

I always remember Mayor Dillon as a good man. God be with his family.
Sincerely
Julie

KIrk Hammond

February 28, 2015

I remember Mr. Dillon very well as he was very involved with Boy Scout Troop 161 in Fremont, CA during the 1960's. He was a fine man with values that we as young boys would carry into our lives as adults. He will be missed.

February 27, 2015

Mary Ann, thoughts and prayers with you and your family! We will miss Don.
Walt and Sherry White

Revan Tranter

February 27, 2015

I was very sorry to see that former ABAG President Don Dillon had died about three weeks ago. When I was Deputy Exec. Dir. of the Metro Washington (D.C.) Council of Govts., in late 1972, I got a phone call from someone who identified himself as Mayor of Fremont, California and Pres. of ABAG. You've never heard of me, he said (correctly, and nor had I heard of Fremont though I was familiar with ABAG, since at the time there were only a handful of regional councils in the country). He went on to say that their Exec. Dir. would be leaving, that he'd been given my name, and would I be interested in applying for the job (which eventually 150 people did)? Because of that call, my wonderful boss's support, and my wife's spirit of adventure, I did, was interviewed in February '73, and in April took over a weird office at Oakland's Claremont Hotel, with a pillar in the middle.

As many colleagues will remember, Don was a great President of ABAG, and a simply marvelous guy. He was a superb local politician, playing the lead role in forming Fremont from the five towns that still mark different parts of the city, and leading the progressive forces (supporting smart growth even in those days, along with regional planning) against the reactionary and well-funded right-wingers. With a wicked sense of humor, he was always fun to work with. Right up into his nineties, he never lost the gift of the gab, and when ABAG and MTC jointly celebrated their respective 50th and 40th anniversaries four years ago, astonished the woman who made the documentary video, who told me that, if she hadn't had to leave, he'd have gone on regaling her with anecdotes for several hours.

A truly lovely man.

Lexa Dillon

February 27, 2015

We will miss you Grandpa. The memories are strong. From croquet in the backyard, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, flying kites at the beach, "walkies" with Tanner, sitting under the dining room table watching carousels of slides from your numerous trips, the football pool envelopes, to the words of wisdom in the nursery business. I will never figure out how you were able to do so much! Especially because you always took the time to tell a story and give someone the grand tour of whatever project you happened to be in the middle of. We love you Grandpa. I hear your words of advice ringing in my ears constantly!

Showing 1 - 8 of 8 results