Donald A. Dill

1938 - 2018

Don passed away peacefully at home on December 10, 2018 after a year-long struggle with cancer. He was born on April 8, 1938 in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada to George "Dode" Dill and Mildred Lutes Dill, and then moved with his mother and sister Anne to live in Vancouver while his father served with the Canadian Army in Europe during World War II. After the war the family remained in Vancouver where Don attended University Hill Elementary and High School, played on the H.S. golf team and once had the opportunity to caddy for Arnold Palmer, an unknown new pro at the time, in a tournament there.
Tempted by a photo of palm trees on the cover of the University of Arizona, Tucson, catalog, he decided he would rather play golf in sunshine than in rain, and enrolled as a foreign student in 1956, spent most of his freshman year partying, but then became a more serious student and met his future wife, Carol, also a student there, in 1957; they married in 1959. After graduating in 1961 with a B. S. in Business Administration, he joined the F. W. Woolworth Company's management training program, starting in the stockroom of a store in Tucson. He then served as Assistant Manager in several stores in the Phoenix area, and was finally assigned to manage a new store in Phoenix. During those years he became a U.S. citizen and he and Carol became the proud parents of two daughters, Doranne in 1960 and Jennifer in 1965. In 1968 he was transferred to La Mesa Calif. to manage their store, followed by a large store in Fashion Valley, San Diego, then made a District Manager for part of southern California before being promoted in 1983 to Human Resources Director for the Western states, working out of the Regional Office in Burlingame Calif. He loved his time with the company, made many friends, enjoyed living in great places and travelling all over the U.S. for his work, and remained with them until 1997 when the Woolworth division stores were closed. Since it wasn't quite time to retire, Don went to work as a Human Resources consultant, and officially retired in 2001.
Then it was time to choose where to go; the criteria were good golf courses and hiking trails, no Walmart, a real downtown, good restaurants, reasonable real estate prices, nearness to Kaiser health facilities, and not too far from family in the Bay Area. Auburn met those requirements and more! Don immediately started golfing at The Ridge where he met other retired golfers who invited him to join the SIR Branch 79, an organization he came to love, and served in many positions, including Big Sir in 2006, and later on the State Golf Committee and as State president for the year 2016. He rarely missed the Friday 9-holes at Black Oak Golf Course and worked part-time in the pro shop there for about 10 years. He treasured his years as a SIR, making countless friends and loving all the activities.
Of most importance to Don, in addition to golf, were his circles of family and friends, and having fun times with all who knew him. He is survived by his wife, Carol, daughters Doranne (Steve Hardt) and Jennifer (Arthur Kepner), wonderful grandchildren Sarah and Andrew Hardt, and his loving dog Pepper. All will miss his ready smile, sense of humor, and love of life.
We would like to thank Bristol Hospice for their kind and gentle care during his last two weeks, especially nurses Darlis and Kim, and home health aide 'Gee.'
A celebration of his life will be held with lunch followed by an informal program at The Ridge on January 20, 2019, noon.
Please sign the online guest book at auburnjournal.com