Some info on Don M

[judeminiken]

Dear Members.

I must tell you how wonderful you all have been in our time of grieving Don M. You not only have helped Amanda and me, but also Don's other children, Josh, Joe and Sarah. I am attaching the obituary that I submitted today to our local paper, so you can see a little more of Don than before. I want you to know that the words I wrote that refer to this room and the people in it, I wrote before you all responded to my first post and Amanda's first post. It is so wonderful that the words that I wrote, you clearly illustrated their truth by your supportive posts. My daughter Sarah wrote the poem for her dad, Don M., after watching him fight the good fight, and struggle for breath..more and more.

Pulsating life, the drum

reflects, pushing howl of

the flute, earth’s music is

my blood. Slow steady nature

flows, and my tender

heart keeps harmonious

time forever. I watch the

painted shapes of flowing

rhythm, I envision the

dreams and sleep soothingly

takes my leathered

hand---leads me to the

sweet scent of heaven’s

showers, where dripping

canopies revive my weary

soul. Wind is my breath,

dancing, lifting, weaving,

protecting. I exhale and

life goes ever on.

-Sarah Miniken

Donald E. Miniken Jr.,

64, died of complications

from lung cancer, Monday,

Jan. 5, 2009. Don was

born in Bremerton, Sept.

3, 1944, to Don and Kathleen

Miniken. He was the

oldest of 13 children. He

was raised in Everett,

where he attended Catholic

and public schools,

graduating from Everett

High School in 1962. After

graduation he attended

seminary intending to enter

the priesthood.

His plans changed however

(he could not stand

the bells) and after a brief

stint in the National

Guard, he transferred to

Washington State University

where he studied forestry.

In 1973, he married Judith

Fox and they had four

children. Don attended

Green River College to

pursue his degree in forestry.

The family moved

to Quinault in 1979, when

Don went to work for the

U.S. Forest Service. He

worked there until retiring

in 2005. He loved his

job, the woods and the

wonderful people with

whom he worked.

Don had many hobbies

and talents. He took thousands

of photos over the

years of nature, of his

children and of anything

in which he caught a

glimpse of beauty. He

loved music of all kinds

but specifically classical

music and rock & roll. He

loved the out-of-doors and

spent a lot of time camping

and hiking with his

children.

Don had a dry sense of

humor that would catch a

person off guard. He had

a way of helping people to

humor that would catch a

person off guard. He had

a way of helping people to

broaden their perspective

by his commentary on any

given situation. He had a

gentle compassionate nature

that is rare. He was

eclectic in his spiritual beliefs,

embracing the Spirit

of Holiness wherever he

could find it and in places

where most people forget

to look. He would rather

give money to the homeless

in secret than sit at

the table of the pompously

rich. He was particularly

drawn to Shamanistic expression

of faith and he

loved Native American

drumming. He enjoyed

watching movies, reading,

gardening, traveling and

visiting with people whom

he loved.

When Don was diagnosed

with lung cancer,

he made it a point to fight

it by learning all that he

could about it. In fact

more than one of the doctors

who treated them

over the past five years

commented that he could

converse with him in

medical terms about his

condition as though he

had medical training himself.

He visited a couple

of cancer support groups

on-line and was greatly

appreciated by other cancer

survivors with whom

he shared his story. He

was highly regarded as

one who could bring hope

and encouragement to

those fighting the disease.

He helped more than one

person pursue treatment

options that ultimately

saved their lives.

Don is survived by his

wife of 35 years, Jude; his

children, Josh (Tracy),

Amanda (fiancé, Ian), Joe

(Mandie) and Sarah (boyfriend,

Danny); his

mother, Kathleen; brothers,

Michael, Kevin, Dennis,

Jim and Jack; sisters,

Mary, Cecelia, Joan, Ellen,

Suzanne and Annie;

grandchildren, Devin,

Chloe, Keaton and soon to

be born, Sean; and many

nieces and nephews. His

father, Don Sr. and

brother, Ed preceded him

in death.

A service to celebrate

his life will be held at 3

p.m., Saturday, Jan. 10,

2009, at the Montesano

Presbyterian Church. The

family suggests remembrances

be sent to The

Montesano Presbyterian

Church, the Union Gospel

Mission or to Home

Health and Hospice.

The family sends out a

special thanks to Robin H.

and Kim of Hospice; Greg

The family sends out a

special thanks to Robin H.

and Kim of Hospice; Greg

of Lincare; the staff at

Grays Harbor Hospital

pharmacy staff and the

staff at Rite-Aide.

To sign the online guestbook

or to light a memorial

candle visit: www.harrisonfamilymortuary.

com.

Again, thank you LUNGevity People. I will come here again.

Jude M.

[Flyman35]

That is just beautiful Jude. Thank you for posting this. Again my sincere condolences to you and your family.

Denise

[fillise]

Thank you for sharing this beautiful tribute to Don. You and your family will remain in my prayers.

Susan

[MsC1210]

Jude

What a beautiful and touching obituary. A very special tribute to a very, very special man.

Again, my sincere condolences to you and your family.

Warmly

Christine

[Kasey]

Thank you, Jude. It is so sad knowing that Don is not 'out there' reading our posts and replying. Without even reading the heartfelt and moving obituary, we all knew what a wonderful guy he was. We are heartbroken.

Kasey

[creekgirlsc]

I always looked forward to the posts by Don M. They were so full of knowledge of our situations.

Now his situation is that he is resting eternally wrapped in the arms of God.

With sympathy for your family........Creekgirl

[Ry]

It's a wonderful tribute to a great man.

[lilyjohn]

I am so sorry for your loss. I haven't been on in a few days. I decided to come here and check on Don because of all of the flooding. My Johnny and I lived in Centralia and he had lived at Copalis Beach. I know the Aberdeen and Hoquium area well.

Please accept my sincere condolences. I know you are all heartbroken. I hope you are all out of danger of the flooding as well. What a terrible time this must be for all of you. Just so much to deal with. You will all certainly be in my prayers. Lillian

[ginnyde]

I have been on this site for a long time. I continue here because of the 'friendships' that I have found. Most certainly Don was a 'friend' that I cared greatly about. How amazing that just the typed word can show us so much about a man's character.

Thank you for sharing him with us. He was much loved here and will be missed tremendously.

[carolhg]

A beautiful tribute.

Carol

[dscherer]

Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful tribute. My prayers are with you.

Dana

[shineladysue]

Jude,

Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful tribute to a man we all knew was very special and now we have even more reasons to confirm what we already knew. Again, I want you to know that my heartfelt condolences go out to you and your family.

God Bless,

Sue

[Amanda]

"lilyjohn"]I am so sorry for your loss. I haven't been on in a few days. I decided to come here and check on Don because of all of the flooding. My Johnny and I lived in Centralia and he had lived at Copalis Beach. I know the Aberdeen and Hoquium area well.

Please accept my sincere condolences. I know you are all heartbroken. I hope you are all out of danger of the flooding as well. What a terrible time this must be for all of you. Just so much to deal with. You will all certainly be in my prayers. Lillian

Both houses in our immediate family are okay, other than a bit of flooding in the garage. My front yard looked like a lake for a while, and the floods prevented family from coming to our hometown when they wanted to, but it looks like the floods will clear up for Dad's memorial service -- so everyone can come.

Thank you for your kind words and thoughts and prayers.

[MsC1210]

Amanda

I was thinking of you all this morning as the weather channel was talking about the flooding there. I am so glad that things are improving.

I continue to think of you and your family and hold you all in my prayers.

Warmly

Christine

[Maryanne]

That was beautiful Amanda, thank your for sharing that.

You all have a rough road ahead please take the love and support of love ones to help you get through this.

The Obit on him Jude is just what I imagined. He was a gem concealed.

The candle I lit for him is still shinning brightly but seems to be getting to the end.

Peace be with you. My heart to yours.

Maryanne

[Nova]

My thoughts are with your family.

Don reached out the hand of friendship to my husband, Harry, when we first found out he had cancer.

God Bless you all.

Nova

[Jyoung20]

What a beautiful tribute. He will be greatly missed.\

God has reserved a very special place in heaven for im!!

God Bless You!

J-me

[Janet B]

What a beautiful poem and tribute.

My prayers are being said for God's comfort and peace.

Janet

[jaminkw]

Jude, Amanda and all of Don's loving family,

One thinks of forestry as a fairly solitary endeavor, but it's apparent Don touched so many people in so many areas of his life. Sarah's poem is beautiful and I was particularly taken with these words in the obituary:

"After graduation he attended seminary intending to enter the priesthood. His plans changed however (he could not stand

the bells)...."

Jude, I don't know if that's your sense of humor or Don's shining through, but it was a funny, touching addition to his story.

Judy in Key West

[Welthy]

To Jude and family,

Thank you for posting this tribute --- it was beautiful. Don was supportive of so many over the years. May God hold you his arms now as he is surely holding Don.

With sympathy,

Welthy

[shellit74]

Jude,

Thanks for sharing the obit. It was beautifully written.

[CaroleHammett]

Jude.

Thank you so much for sharing both Sarah's poem and Don's obituary. He was such a wonderful man and loved his family so much. I wish you had had him longer, but am thankful for your sakes--and all of ours--that we alll had him as long as we did.

With love and affection,

Carole

PS Your mortuary link was 'corrupted' so I am providing it again so that others here can find his memory and guest books:

http://www.harrisonfamilymortuary.com/