Donald Shoemake

1939 - 2015

Donald Dwight (Don) Shoemake, Crosby, TX was born November 27, 1939 to Edna Rowles Shoemake and Dwight Shoemake in a log cabin, the home of his maternal grandparents, five miles north of Bolivar, MO. He passed away June 30, 2015 at Legend Oaks Healthcare Center in East Houston, TX.

Don was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Rita Joyce Crochet Shoemake; son, Daniel Meyers; and brother, Douglas Shoemake.

Survivors are his three sisters: Maye Gulley (Jim) of De Soto, KS; Wanda Taylor of Bonner Springs, KS; and Geraldine Hignight of Bolivar, MO, three nieces, one nephew, seven great nieces, several cousins and many friends.

Early years for Don were spent on farms in Bear Creek, and Dunnegan, MO where he learned to drive a tractor at a very young age. He went to Fair Play Schools in MO from first grade through his sophomore year and then the family moved to Kansas City, KS where he graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1957, at the age of 17.

After high school he worked at Proctor and Gamble in Kansas City, KS, earning $2 an hour and saved $1000 toward college that first summer. He attended Kansas University and graduated from Emporia State Teachers College with a Bachelors Degree in Science in 1973. As a teacher he taught chemistry, physics, and math, teaching at Hoyt, KS, Austin Sr. High in Houston, TX and Hardin School north of Liberty, TX.

Don was an army veteran of the Vietnam Era.

Don met Rita Joyce Crochet at Austin Senior High School in Houston, TX in 1976 where they were both teaching. They married June 7, 1977 and were married 37 years.

Don owned and operated Don's Automotive, a car repair shop and A-l Trailer Service in Crosby, which repaired 18 wheeler trucks. Previously to this, he had worked at Armco Steel in Houston.

Don was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis in the late 1990s and developed a close relationship with his doctor, Aziz Shaibani of Houston, TX.

Memorial contributions may be made to Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, 355 Lexington Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10017.

Cremation was by Carnes Funeral Home of Houston, TX. No services were held.