Don L. Purdum

1942 - 2022

Don (Donnie) Lee Purdum, 78, a 40 year resident of Pearland, TX passed away August 20, 2021 in Houston, TX. Don was born on September 23, 1942 in Tulsa, OK.

Don was a was a wonderful, husband, father, and friend.

He is preceded in death by his daughters: Edith Hayes, Theresa Hayes, and Janet Hayes, and by his parents, Leola and Marion Purdum.

Don leaves behind his wife of 41 years, Margaret Purdum; daughter, Leanne Purdum; sons, Greg Hayes and Walter Hayes, grandchildren, and a brother, Glenn Purdum.

Don was a witty, charming and articulate husband, except for the occasional time when he wasn't. He is remembered as a wonderful husband and is greatly missed. His daughter will remember him for his tenacity, ability to talk to anyone, sense of humor, and for his pronunciation of his favorite animal, the "woof". Don was not afraid to let people know what was on his mind. If he liked you, you knew it. If he didn't like you, you darn sure knew it. Don would not put up with anyone harming or mistreating his loved ones, and was someone you wanted on your side in times of need. He was known for puns, colorful phrases, and speaking his mind.

Don loved old cars, planes, Western memorabilia, and was an avid collector. He once had a pilot's license. He was an interesting and fun person with quite the sense of humor. His business cards described him as "El Lobo Loco Viejo" (The Crazy Old Wolf) and offered services ranging from sales of vintage collectibles to conducting Christian Ministries. He loved the hill country of Texas, and the southwest. He was an avid traveler, saw much of the world, and was hoping to see Normandy on his next travels.

Perhaps no cause was more important to Don than caring for and loving animals. For years he dressed as Santa Clause for his favorite animal shelter. He had a long history of involvement with animal rights organizations, once serving on the board of a shelter, and was known to adopt strays throughout his life, pulling over to catch a stray dog, adopting cats who came to the door, and donating to various causes each year. A dog or cat in need of a home was lucky to find him and was soon to be spoiled. His family have all inherited this trait of adopting animals, and he was known to look the other way when an unapproved new pet made its way into the house.

Don had a prolific career and received many awards. When he was 17 years old he ran a satellite tracking station in Seattle Washington, a city that was special to him his whole life. He worked in aerospace since the 1960's. Most of that time was with Philco Ford, Aeronutronic Ford, Ford Aerospace, Loral and Lockheed Martin at Johnson Space Center in Houston. For a few years he worked with Martin Marietta in Denver, Colorado on Department of Defense contracts. He had the role of project manager, department manager and program manager all related to support of Apollo, Skylab, and the space Shuttle. For many years Don was the program manager for the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) contract at Ellington Field near Johnson Space Center. This contract involved hardware and software engineering, aircraft maintenance related to the electronics in support of astronaut training, scheduling and interface with NASA management and astronaut personnel at JSC and other locations.

Don attended New Life Lutheran Church, where he both enjoyed and offered friendship.

Don was vaccinated against the COVID virus, and tried very hard to protect himself from it. Ultimately, however, he succumbed to a variant of COVID pneumonia. If you are able to get vaccinated and have yet to do so, we ask you do so in honor of Don to protect the vulnerable who will not survive this preventable and communicable disease.

A memorial service will be held at New Life Lutheran Church in Pearland on September 23rd 2022 at 6pm. A reception will follow. Guests are welcome to attend either or both.

In lieu, of flowers please make contributions to Bay Area Pet Adoptions of Texas, https://www.bayareapetadoptions.org/.