Donald Lee Francois

1932 - 2026

Donald Lee Francois of Valley Park, Missouri, passed away Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, at the age of 93.

Don’s life was filled with music, curiosity, a generous spirit, and a remarkable ability to calmly focus on and fix the problem at hand. His love and dedication to his family, steady and reasoned advice, and willingness to help and teach those around him will be sorely missed by family and friends.

If you watched television in St. Louis before 1997, you have Don Francois in part to thank, because he literally helped build the industry in the region. He began working in radio and television in the early 1950s as a hands-on electrical engineer, and eventually joined the crew at CBS Channel 4, where he worked for over 40 years. His attention to details, persistent problem solving, and innate understanding of the technology of the time helped keep programming on the air, and his consistent and sincere desire to help his co-workers genuinely made work a pleasure for him. Equipment he used is part of the display at the St. Louis History Museum on the early days of TV, and he was inducted into the St. Louis Media History Foundation Hall of Fame in 2016. In retirement, Don shared his proficiency with technology by volunteering to teach computer and smart phone instruction to seniors through St. Louis Oasis classes.

Don was a Navy veteran, who sailed the world as a young man, and carried his love of boating into his time in the Coast Guard Auxiliary. He owned his own boat and spent many weekends on the lakes and rivers of the Midwest, water-skiing, playing music and relaxing with cherished friends. Boating would be where he met the love of his life, his wife of nearly 60 years, Teresa (Terry) Tumminello. She would later tell her daughter, “I fell in love with his goodness.” They married a few years later, traded the boat for a Baldwin Compact Theater Organ, and built a life around family, work, music and friends in St. Louis County. He became an avid tennis player and was active for years helping to manage the Big Bend Woods Bath and Tennis Club in the Manchester neighborhood that the family called home for 45 years.

His life-long love of music began at the age of five, when his parents would set an accordion in his lap, and he quickly learned to play. He also became proficient with the bassoon, the organ, and even recorded an album playing classical guitar. In retirement, he promptly joined the band “Il Quartetto con Uno,” as well as the St. Louis Italian Community Band, sharing his talents playing accordion for events all over St. Louis for over 20 years, eventually playing over 400 shows. He was also a supporter of the St. Louis Symphony and a lover of opera and classical music. On the day before he passed away, he listened to Beethoven’s 9th symphony with close family, leaving them with the impression that he was at peace with a life well lived.

Most of all, Don was an optimistic man of absolute reliability and inexhaustible generosity. He created a life of love and security for his family. He was patient and calm, and his words were reasoned and true. He helped those around him whenever he could and finished what he started until the very end. Don was dearly loved and will be missed greatly by those who knew him.

He is survived by his adoring wife of 58 years, Teresa (Tumminello); his children: Ron (wife Linda), Mary (husband Dan); his grandchildren: Melanie (Jason), James (wife Erin), Thomas (Morgan), T.J., Tristan, Kaden, Gordon, and Emilia; his siblings: Norma Smith, Dale Francois, Phil Francois, and Ken Francois. He was preceded in death by son Don Michael (wife Marge), son Davey Lee, brother Lowell Francois, father Harold Francois and mother Naomi Schaubert Francois.

Don made the generous decision to donate his body to science through Saint Louis University School of Medicine's Gift Body Program. In keeping with his preference for simplicity, the family will not hold services.

As a service of the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory, friends may sign the family's on-line guestbook at Schrader.com.