Donald William Witt

Donald William Witt, 82

GRAND ISLAND - Donald William Witt, 82, of Grand Island passed away on Sunday, June 25, 2023.

Memorial service and a celebration of Donald's life will be held on Thursday, July 6th at 11:00 am, at Peace Lutheran Church in Grand Island. Pastor Carl Eliason will officiate.

Don was born May 21, 1941, in Omaha, the son of Willis A. and Loretta (Neuhaus) Witt. He was baptized and confirmed at Zion EV Lutheran Church outside of Bennington. He grew up on a farm near Bennington, NE, and graduated from Bennington High School, class of 1959. In 1962, he graduated from Spartan School of Aeronautics as an airline technician. He also received his airframe and powerplant license the same year. He then went to work for Sky Harbor Air Service in Omaha.

On December 9, 1963, Don entered the United States Army, serving at Fort Leonard Wood as a helicopter mechanic and crew chief. He was honorably discharged December 8, 1965, and resumed his position at Sky Harbor, eventually achieving his goal of Service Manager.

On September 4, 1970, Don married the love of his life, Vetta "Ve" Miller. They made their home in Omaha before moving to Grand Island in 1986. Don and Ve have one daughter, Kimberly.

In Grand Island, Don held the position of Director of Maintenance at GP-Express, then he became a member of Exec Aviation as Chief of Maintenance. As companies bought each other out, Don became a member of the crew at Grand Island Aviation and in 2003, at Trego//Dugan Aviation he was Senior Lead Mechanic, retiring in 2018.

He was proud of his career and spent more than 50 years as…in his words…an "aircraft mechanic". In 2019 Donald was presented with the Charles Taylor "Master Mechanic" award for his 50 years of dedicated service in Aviation safety by the Federal Aviation Administration Department of Transportation.

Don was a member of Peace Lutheran Church after moving to Grand Island.

His first hobby as a young man was building and flying RC model airplanes and then he became interested in "N" scale model trains. When he finally got a riding mower, Don enjoyed taking care of his yard and doing home improvements. He could always find something to keep himself busy.

Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of 52 years, Vetta "Ve"; daughter, Kimberly Witt both of Grand Island; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Willis and Kathy Witt and Malvin and Elaine Witt, all of Omaha and numerous nephews, nieces, cousins and friends.

He is also survived by his in-laws, Jennifer Reardon, Edward (Carole) Bennett, Gayla Slack, Charles Bennett, Jean (Glen) Miller, Liz (Earl) Miller and Lola (John) Bennett;

He was preceded in death by his parents; mother-in-law, Evelyn Bennett; and brothers-in-law, Glen Miller, Earl Miller and John Bennett.

In lieu of flowers and memorials, please donate to your favorite charity in Donald's memory.

Online remembrances may be left at www.giallfaiths.com.