Born December 18 th , 1940 in Rocky Ford, Colorado, to Bill and Hazel (Lohrey) Goebel, started first grade in Walnut Grove, California, and finished schooling at Manzanola and Rocky Ford schools. He was a member of the track and football teams at both high schools. While a student at Jefferson Junior High, he represented Otero county at the State Spelling Bee at the Capital building in Denver in 1955. Don tied the record for the 180-yard low hurdles event at a district invitational track meet at Sugar City High School in 1957. He was a member of the mile relay team that competed at the state track meet at Colorado University's Folsom Field in Boulder in 1958.

Don Enlisted in the Army at age 17 and served three years and three months, including 2 ½ years with the 25 th Signal Battalion in Karlsruhe, Germany and an assignment with the Signal Missile Support Agency at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

He started his Civil Service career at the Pueblo Army Ordinance Depot in 1962. Don then entered the Navy in 1966 and served two years as Storekeeper First Class (SK1) aboard the guided missile destroyer, USS Decatur (DDG-31). He was promoted to Chief Storekeeper (SKC) at the Naval Reserve Center in Pueblo in 1969.

As a Logistician with Philco-Ford (later Ford-Aerospace) Corporation, Don worked at USAF satellite tracking stations in California, Guam, Greenland, Seychelles and Hawaii.

As a Materials Forecaster with Arabian-American Oil Company (ARAMCO) and a Project Materials Specialist with Saudi Consolidated Electric Company (SCECO), Don worked at gas and oil gathering facilities and on electric power generation, transmission and distribution projects in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province.

Don worked as a Material Control Analyst for General Dynamics-Convair on the Atlas rocket launch complex at Vandenberg AFB.

Don then rehired with Civil Service in 1984 and worked at the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in DeSoto, Kansas, as Government Property Administrator at NASA's White Sands Test Facility and as Supervisory Industrial Property Specialist at the Naval Air Stations at Corpus Christi, and Kingsville, Texas.

After retiring from civil Service in 1995, Don worked for United Air Lines in Indianapolis and Denver. He then worked for Pacific Architects and Engineers, a Department of State contractor, at the American Embassy in Moscow. One collateral duty was managing excess office equipment and furniture and handling donations to churches and schools. He considered himself lucky to be able to visit Russia, the country from which all four Grandparents emigrated in the early 1900's. During his five years of military service, his working career and in retirement, he managed to visit 49 states and 31 countries.

After returning from Russia in 2002, he served as an Elder at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, as Treasurer of the Friends of the Library, as Secretary/Treasurer of the local Chapter of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees, and as Treasurer of Southeast Colorado Antique Vehicle Club.

Don passed into the arms of his Lord early in the morning of April 16, 2018. He is survived by his brother Bob (Jerusha) of Colorado Springs, sister Shirley Ranus of Pueblo, and sister Sherry (Frank) Sayers of Woodland Park. He is also survived by nine nieces and nephews and many grandnieces and grandnephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, a niece and a nephew.