Donald Lee Campbell

1933 - 2011

Donald Lee Campbell, 77, of Troy, Mo., and formerly of Visalia, Calif., passed from this life peacefully on Tuesday morning, May 10, 2011 at his home.

The son of Stanley Marion and Edna (Houston) Campbell, he was born Dec. 28, 1933, in Troy, Missouri. On Dec. 27, 1952, at Webster Groves, Mo., he married Patricia June McKee, who preceded him in death on Feb. 26, 1996. On Aug. 2, 1997, at Troy, Mo., he married Norma (Colbert) Hutton, who survives. Also surviving him are: two sons, Bruce Campbell and wife, Darlene, of Visalia, Calif., and Brian Campbell and wife, Tracey, of Moorpark, Calif.; two stepsons, Kent Hutton and wife, Carol, of Roswell, Ga., and Doug Hutton and wife, Connie, of Troy, Mo.; six grandchildren; three step-grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and a sister-in-law, Cordelia "Corky" Campbell, of Troy, Mo. He was preceded in death by: an infant daughter, Cheryl Campbell, and two brothers, Melvin Campbell and Marion Campbell.

Donald was a 1952 graduate of Buchanan High School in Troy, Mo. In September 1956, he and Pat left Troy with two-year-old Bruce for California in a 1954 Ford pulling a 37-foot mobile home. He found employment with Southern California Edison Electrical Company and worked there for 32 years, retiring in 1989. In 1997, he returned to Troy and married Norma.

While in California, he was a Little League Baseball coach and a Boy Scout leader. As a Boy Scout leader, he led 50 mile backpack trips in the Sierra Mountains and led numerous trips in the rugged Sespe Mountain range in Southern California. He was an inventor and a tool he devised is still sold to this day. He owned three different sailboats and sailed over 40,000 miles off the coast of Southern California. He also sailed as a Captain or Co-Captain on two trips to the Virgin Islands, off the coast of Tonga and New Zealand and around the Sea of Cortez off Baja California. Later in life, he traveled the 48 contiguous states in a motor home.

He was an avid learner and could fix anything. Once he was interested in a subject, he became well-read, knowledgeable and proficient at any venture. At the end of his life, he beat prostate cancer and fought a three-year battle with kidney cancer. He enjoyed bowling, card games, dominoes, fishing and visiting with friends. He was a hero to his family. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. In his Freshman English Class, he memorized his favorite poem, "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley. At the end of his life, he could still recite it word for word.

"Invictus" by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Funeral services will be held at 6 p.m., Friday evening, May 13, at Ingersoll Chapel for Funeral and Cremation Services, 211 Boone Street, Troy, MO 63379 (636-462-CARE 2273). Visitation will be prior to the service, from 3 until 6 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to the local Troy Food Pantry in care of Ingersoll Chapel, 211 Boone St., Troy, MO 63379.

Please join us in honoring the memory of Donald at www.ingersollchapel.com. Through this site you may light a candle and share your fond memories with the family.