Memorial services for Donald Stockmyer will be held at 1 p.m. at Burley Funeral Chapel, Oak Harbor, Friday, June 6, with Cmdr. Fred Renfroe, CHC, USN (Ret) officiating. Full military honors will be provided under the auspices of the NAS Whidbey Island Honor Guard. Burial at sea will follow under the direction of the U.S. Navy.

Donald Stockmyer, 88, died May 31, 2003 at his home in Oak Harbor. He was born May 18, 1915, in Bellingham to Earl E. and Alta P. (Fagg) Stockmyer. Don’s mother died when Don was four months of age and his father raised him. Don went with his father to Eastern Washington, where he worked with his father as a logger.

Earl Stockmyer died when Don was 14 years old. Don returned to Bellingham where he and his brother were raised by an aunt. After leaving high school, Don traveled to New York and worked as a cook in a hotel. He developed a lifelong love of cooking. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, he worked at the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1933. From there he went to work as the chief baker at the Grand Coulee Dam during its construction.

In December of 1943, Don enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving in the Pacific Theater. Following the war, he was transferred to Norman, Okla., where he was assigned as a Navy instructor. He met Edith Kathrene “Kitty” in 1943 and they were married in 1946.

The Stockmyer family was transferred to Alameda, Calif., and then to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in 1953. In 1954, Kitty died. Don continued to raise his children and in 1957, the Navy sent them to NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii. As retirement approached, Don was transferred back to NAS Whidbey and Anacortes again became home. Don retired on Dec. 3, 1963 as an chief petty officer with more than 20 years of military service.

Don purchased a gillnetter fishing boat and for many summers fished the waters of Alaska. He was also hired as a quality control inspector for Skagit Steel, a position he held for more than 15 years. On Aug. 23, 1967, he married Constance N. (McMartin) Campbell and they made Oak Harbor their permanent residence.

Don was a life member of the Anacortes Elks Lodge No. 1204, a member of the Retired Chief Petty Officers Association and a former member of the An-O-Chords Barbershop group. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening and cooking.

His wife Connie of Oak Harbor survives Don. He is survived by three children: Alta Shelton of Long Beach, Calif.; Neal Stockmyer (Chris) of Lawrenceville, Ga., and Brian Stockmyer of Anacortes. He is survived by seven stepchildren: Terry Campbell of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.; Pamela Elliott (Mike) of Oak Harbor; Dan Campbell of Bellingham; Melanie Campbell of Redding, Calif.; Nicole Starks of Lincoln, Calif., Richard Campbell (Candice) and Randy Campbell (Cathy) all of Oak Harbor. Twenty-four grandchildren and seven great grandchildren also survive him.

Memorial may be made to the American Cancer Society. Arrangements and cremation are under the direction of Burley Funeral Chapel. This obituary is online at http://burley.plan4ever.com