Donn Magny Samuelson

Donn Magny Samuelson, telephone executive and long time Poway resident, died Jan. 3 following a brief illness. He was 93. Donn and Pauline Samuelson celebrated their 66th anniversary Jan. 2.
Samuelson, born in Los Angeles and a graduate of UCLA, was a Navy veteran who served in the Pacific 1943-1946. Following training at Harvard University, he was assigned as communication officer aboard U.S.S. Dobbin (AD-3), a tender that refitted fleet destroyers for radar, operating from Australia and New Guinea during campaigns for the Solomons, Guadalcanal and Java. In 1944 Samuelson was transferred to the attack ship U.S.S. Brule (APA-66), where he served during the invasion of Iwo Jima. Donn and Pauline were married in Los Angeles, 1943. In 1946 following the war’s end, Samuelson joined Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company, managing field engineering for north San Diego County and eventually becoming District Plant Manager for San Diego and Imperial Counties, from which he retired in 1980. The Samuelsons moved frequently for assignments in San Diego, Escondido and Los Angeles. In 1955 they bought the very first home site in Green Valley and built a permanent home there.
Samuelson was a passionate traveler and sports fan. He served the Lutheran Church in lay capacities throughout his life, helping found the Lutheran Church of the Incarnation in Poway and serving as its first choir director. In 2003, the couple retired to Solana Beach. Samuelson was a music aficionado, played piano by ear, and sang with the San Diego Master Chorale. He entertained at Telephone Company gatherings with a repertoire of swing-era standards. His baritone was a presence in the choir of every church he attended, and he continued to sing with Calvary Lutheran’s choir in Solana Beach well into his nineties.
He is survived by wife, Pauline; Mark and Beth Samuelson of Denver; Joan Samuelson of Healdsburg; Judith Samuelson and Vic Henschel of New York; John Samuelson of Costa Mesa; and granddaughters, Rachel and Leah Samuelson and Anna and Sarah Henschel. Services are Saturday, Jan. 31 at 1 p.m. at Calvary Lutheran in Solana Beach. Memorial contributions may be made to Calvary Lutheran Building Fund, 424 Via De La Valle, Solana Beach, CA 92075, or Voice for a Cure, c/o Samuelson Charitable Foundation, 5000 Edenhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90039.