Donald Duane Davidson “Jr.” or “Triple D” or “Dollars Davidson” as many affectionately called him, passed away Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at Hays Medical Center.
Don was born on August 14, 1946, in Hamilton, Montana to Hugh Duane and Helen Margaret (Miller) Davidson. He spent his early childhood in Montana until the family moved to Idaho where he graduated from Leadore High School.
He then joined the US Air Force where he was a mechanic serving in Okinawa Japan, Thailand and Vietnam. Upon returning to the states he was stationed in Wichita, Kansas at McConnell Air Force Base. There he met and married Mary Jane (Knoll) and had two children. Mary Jane preceded him in death on December 28, 2018.
Don will be remembered by all who knew him as a kind, generous, funny, and of course, stubborn man. The latter being passed down in staggering amounts (as his grandmother once told him, “You can always tell a Davidson, you just can’t tell them very much!). He was a jack of all trades, and master of many.
He was an over the road truck driver for many years, (creating a larger than life impression on two little kids who loved riding in the truck). He then opened Davidson’s Road Service in Hays Kansas providing a wide range of automotive services, (and a lot of beer drinking and shop talk sessions). But he wasn’t done there, the US Postal Service was his next occupation. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor a herd of deer in the middle of the road could stop him from delivering the mail, (even hit one deer twice he claimed!).
To many, Don wasn’t a one in a million kind of man, he was a once in a lifetime genuine man among men. There was no end to his helpful and caring nature and would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need. It was nothing for him to be at his shop late into the night making sure a customer’s vehicle would be ready for them the next day, (to the point of falling asleep in his spaghetti!). We never let him live that one down!. He lived, he loved, and was loved by many.
Donald is survived by his son, William Davidson and wife, Kim, Wichita, KS; his daughter, Cheryl Chambers and Jim Pfaff, Gorham, KS; his half-brother, Steve Bauman and wife, Lisa, Corvallis, MT; his half-sisters, Connie Gartner and husband, Terry, Filer, ID; Sue Vukasin and husband, Steve, Great Falls, MT; Barbara Hitchcock and husband, Ron, Stockton, CA; his sister-in-law, Shirley Loyd and Charlie Feik, Logan, KS;
his grandchildren, Brandon Davidson; Casey Howell; Cydney Huxman and husband, Noah; Logan Chambers; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Hugh and Helen Davidson; his wife, Mary Jane Davidson; and his half-brother, John Bauman. We will miss him dearly.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 1:00 P.M. Friday, September 20, 2024, with Rev. Troy Miller officiating. Military Honors will be conducted by the Hays V.F.W. Post No. 9076. The Family will receive friends from 11:30 to 1:00 P.M. Friday, at Clines-Keithley Mortuary of Hays. A private family inurnment will be held at a later date in Montana.
The family suggests memorials made payable to: Hays ARC Park in care of Cline’s-Keithley Mortuary of Hays, 1919 East 22nd Street, Hays, Kansas 67601.