Donald J. Shirar

Donald J. Shirar, 78, of Coupeville, passed away peacefully on July 11, 2007 at University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle. Don was born in Argos, Ind., on Dec. 24, 1928 to Alvy and Eva (Webster) Shirar. He was raised in Plymouth, Ind. and graduated from high school there. Don attended Indiana University in Bloomington and received a B.S. degree in Business Administration. Shortly after college he joined the Marine Corps and attended Officers’ Candidate School at Quantico, Va. He proudly served his country in Korea and was on active duty for four years. He remained in the reserves for six years and received an Honorable Discharge in 1962.

Following his military service, Don lived in the San Francisco Bay area, Sacramento and Spokane. During that time he was a sales representative for Union Carbide. His life’s work was business, and he was part-owner of several businesses. He met Peggy Pasquali in San Jose, Calif., and they were married in November 1968. They moved to San Diego about a year later, and their daughter, Katherine Marie, was born in La Mesa, Calif., in 1971.

Don’s hobbies were fishing, hunting, and scuba diving. He and his family enjoyed many deep-sea fishing trips to Baja, Calif., and drove Jeeps to Cabo San Lucas before the road was paved. Don also loved Yellowstone National Park, and he and his daughter enjoyed getting up early to go bear-watching. This was a special place to him, because he had camped there many times in his youth and had gone through on horseback.

Don enjoyed his business career and outdoor life until a heart ailment slowed him down in 1992. On Oct. 17, 1996 he was blessed with a heart transplant at the University of California, San Diego. His family would like to express their eternal gratitude to the donor, John D. Stanton, and his family of Marysvale, Utah for their gift of life. Because of the transplant, he was able to retire on beautiful Whidbey Island, fish, travel, and have almost 11 additional years with his family. In 2000 Don caught a 120-pound halibut at Canadian Princess Resort at Ucluelet, Vancouver Island, B.C. It was the record for the year, and he proudly wore his Master Fisherman cap until a few days before he passed.

Don is survived by his wife of 37 years, Peggy; daughter Katherine Neiman and son-in-law Larry Neiman; sister Phyllis Keller of Berne, Ind.; nephew Fred Keller, his wife Diane and their daughter Jennifer of Tamuning, Guam; niece Linda Ruddy and her husband Kenny of Newnan, Ga.; brothers-in-law Lou Pasquali, Jim Pasquali, Gene Pasquali and Henry Mello of San Jose; sisters-in-law Doris Sharkey, Bruna Mello and Ava Pasquali of San Jose; many loving nieces and nephews as well as life-long friends.

A memorial will be held at the Coupeville United Methodist Church, 608 N. Main Street, on Friday, Aug. 10, at 5 p.m. The family cordially invites friends to join them in giving Don a proper send-off. Cremation was entrusted to Burley Funeral Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to University of Washington Foundation, Attention: Transplant Services.