Donald Herndon

1/1/1928 — 9/3/2016

• Service Date: 9/11/2016

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"So God made a farmer"

Donald "Don" Ray Herndon, a lifetime farmer of God's rich lands, was granted a final clearance for takeoff on a clear and sunny Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, from Earth. However any of us thinks someone should lead life or conduct their business is of little consequence when the call is made up yonder. Don led his life in the best way he knew. He was a model to his children, a credit to his marriage and a proud contributor to his community.

Born Jan. 1, 1928, to Leslie Drew and Grace Ellen (Tupper) Herndon, Don was the first baby born in the new year in Culdesac, Nez Perce County. The merchants in nearby Lewiston celebrated the occasion by making Don the recipient of a baby portrait, porcelain plate and ceramic water-heated food dish. This was a matter of pride for Don until it was noted in the Lewiston Morning Tribune in the historical column when he turned 40. Yes, even if he didn't find humor in it, we all did.

Reared on a small farming operation on the "home place" on Tom Beall and later at a place in Garden Gulch, Don rode with his siblings on horseback to a one-room schoolhouse on Cottonwood Creek. As the years progressed, his father bought the Krozier place, now called the Herndon place, where the family resides to this day. Don attended school in Culdesac until he joined the U.S. Navy during World War II, then returned to the family farming operation.

During this time, Don took advantage of his Veterans Administration school benefit and learned to fly. Being a pilot became his new love, until he met a young lady named Laverne Carter. Don and Laverne married on May 14, 1950. The couple moved to a small house in Culdesac, where they started their family.

When his father Leslie retired in 1963, Don moved his little but growing family to the ranch, where he continued to hone his farming skills and move with the modernization of the agricultural business. Don was there to witness the large operations of the past move into the past as horses, crews of men and other old methods were replaced by gas-powered thrashers, tractors with newfangled gadgets and abilities no one could have imagined. His crews now included his children once their feet could reach the pedals of the trucks, tractors or any piece of equipment necessary to operate the farm.

Don taught his children the art of animal husbandry, stewardship of the land and the importance of being a good neighbor. He considered service to the community a joyful obligation for his blessings. In that air, he served on the board of the Wheat Growers Association, Grange Supply Board and the County Road Commission. He contributed to the Culdesac Food Bank and the Culdesac Quick Response Unit. He also insisted that each of his children learn to play an instrument, any instrument to help them through life when things got bumpy. It served them all well. His children still remember warm summer nights when he would sit on the porch and serenade their mother when they had all gone to bed.

He was preceded in death by his brothers, Merle and Lewis "Mick" Herndon; sister Doris Meacham; and son Milo Shawn Herndon.

Don is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Laverne; brother John Herndon of Culdesac; sister Gladys Kendrick of Tacoma; children Craig Herndon of Winchester, Patricia (Spiro) Gialopsos of Anchorage, Alaska, Joy Ann (Mark) Sugden of Lapwai, Jason (Tina) Herndon of Culdesac, and Travis (Shaune) Herndon of Culdesac; 11 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

The family requests in lieu of flowers, memorials be sent to the Culdesac QRU, P.O. Box 102, Culdesac, ID 83524; or the Culdesac Gem Community Fund, P.O. Box 45, Culdesac, ID 83524. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday in the barn of Guardian Angel Homes, 2421 Vineyard Drive, Lewiston.

Service Information

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Sunday, September 11, 2:00 PM

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