HUNTSMAN, Donald Felton

The Record-Courier 16 Nov 2012 Donald Felton Huntsman was born March 2, 1920, in Ely, Nev., to Emory Huntsman and Elsie Shipp Huntsman, both descendents of early Mormon pioneers. He lost his mother at the age of 5, and he and his older brother Conrad were raised by a loving grandmother and his bachelor uncle, Frank Shipp. The family moved to Baker City, Ore., where he enjoyed growing up within the helpful Mormon community and with all the fun adventure that a small town provides. Don was a proud member of the 1938 Baker High School State Champion Basketball team. During his years in Baker he was known as Felton and it wasn’t until he joined the Air Force that he learned his official name was Donald Felton. He became “Don” from then on! As the possibility of war loomed, Don moved to Los Angeles to work for Lockheed until the beginning of WWII. Because of his love for airplanes and his dream to fly, he applied to be a cadet with Army Air Corp and was accepted. Don and Aileen had been “acquaintances” throughout their school years; however in 1942, before reporting to active duty he and his fiance were secretly married since, at that time, cadets were not allowed to marry. Don earned his wings at Luke Field in November of 1943, spent a short period of time as an instructor of cadets, and was sent to Italy in 1944. He volunteered for the All Weather Squadron based in Bari, Italy where he completed 41 missions in his beloved P-38 during which time he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and three air medals. His missions were flown primarily solo over the Alps into Germany, Austria and Romania, regardless of dangerous weather conditions. Returning from the war, Don greeted his wife and baby daughter, Pamela, and moved his family to Seattle where he entered the U of W. he graduated with a degree in Mathematical Statistics and embarked on a 34 year career with Boeing as a Program Planner in Industrial Engineering. His daughter Caryn joined the family during his Boeing years. Don retired from Boeing in 1984 and looked forward to a long golfing career. He and Aileen also took this opportunity to spend wonderful times traveling to Europe and beyond. They also spent many enjoyable evenings at the symphony. Don’s daughter suggested he volunteer as a docent with the Museum of Flight, and he soon found a new second passion of meeting and talking to people from all over the world. He loved to share his knowledge of the airplanes and WWII and in particular, taking people through the Personal Courage Wing. He always made it a point of telling people about his beloved P-38, and with a sly smile, would say “the plane that won the war”! Don died very suddenly and unexpectedly on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012. An internment service with Military Honors was provided by the United States Air Force at Mt. Tahoma National Cemetery. He leaves behind his loving wife Aileen of 70 years, daughters Pamela Roche (Stephen) and Caryn Bujnowski (Michael), granddaughters Erin Roche and Lindsey Gonzalez, two great grandson Coby and Kellen Donald, and many nieces and nephews.