My friend Don Qurnell has gone to heaven

When I opened the Union this morning I had no expectation of seeing my old friend Don Q in the obituaries.  I am still shocked.  I last talked to Don at the CABPRO dinner on March 1 and he seemed to be just fine.  He and his wife Dottie and I chatted briefly and I was so glad to see them.  Now Don is gone. HERE is the Union obituary.

I met Don years ago when I started CABPRO and he was the President of the Alta Sierra Property Owners Association.  He was retired from GE (nuclear division and a non college grad) and he was a conservative fellow who was not afraid to speak his mind.  We met as I recall because he was referred to me to discuss the condition of county roads and their funding.  We met with a couple of other fellows who will remain unnamed and a strategy to fund the roads was born.  Measure F.  We met some more times and we wrote a Initiative which eventually made it to the vote and became law.  A lot of roads in our county are the result of Don's hard work (and Jon).

Don lived in a house he built in Alta Sierra.   Being an engineer, Don was a very organized man.  He did woodworking and he showed me his workshop under his main floor.  It was so clean you could probably eat off the floor!  Every tool had its place.  All his equipment was maintained so well it looked new.  Don was making redwood benches with a planter at each end for deck use.  I bought one from him and used it for many years until it went with the ex.  His craftsmanship was top notch.

Don stopped by in early February and we had a great talk about the state of government and politics and what we each thought would happen locally and nationally.  He had no use for democrats and less for Obama.  I listened carefully since I considered Don to be a true representative of a important segment of the voting populace.  I liked his thinking.  Don told me he was doing a treadmill everyday and he had small weights he did curls with as well.  He looked and seemed healthy and I did not detect any problems.

Well, Don, my old friend, I will miss your input on many issues.  You had a impact on the lives of many people here in Nevada County and they will probably never know it since you were not a person who tooted his own horn.  But I and the others you were friends with will not forget you.  You were a true American.  Goodbye my friend.