posted 08-13-2020 06:33 PM
It is with a heavy heart that I have to tell you that Donald Dionysus Arabian, Chief of Apollo Test Division, passed away on Tuesday 11th August.
Whilst I am obviously very sad about losing Don, the huge positives are that he managed to get to 95 years of age (he never liked the term "old" but preferred to say that he was "ninety five orbits around the Sun") which is no mean feat, he had a heck of a good and interesting life and, most importantly, as his son Don, Jr. put it in, "His passing was a real blessing, free of pain or discomfort. I truly believe he picked his time to go and did so on his terms as we would expect him to do."
There are many quotes I could add here, and they aren't all of the so-called "Mad Don" variety, some are impressive quotes from impressive people, and I aim to post them in a few days as they make good reading, but instead let me post this truly wonderful clip of Charles Murray speaking about Don.
randy Member
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posted 08-13-2020 06:47 PM
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SpaceCadet1983 Member
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MCroft04 Member
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rjurek349 Member
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LM1 Member
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Jeff Member
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capoetc Member
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SkyMan1958 Member
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posted 08-13-2020 11:33 PM
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ManInSpace Member
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mode1charlie Member
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Kevin T. Randall Member
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hlbjr Member
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Kite Member
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Grounded! Member
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JJG10101 Member
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posted 08-14-2020 09:51 PM
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Buel Member
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posted 08-15-2020 01:26 AM
Memories of Don from Rusty Schweickart;
Don was indeed unique, a one-of-a-kind guy; they "broke the mold” after they made him, etc, etc. What I remember most about him was his ever present sense of humor and his silly, crooked grin. That and how damned clever he was! He always seemed to be able to see an issue or problem in a slightly different way from everyone else. Great guy; great memories.
oly Member
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posted 08-15-2020 01:42 AM
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crash Member
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posted 08-15-2020 04:09 AM
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Joel Katzowitz Member
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posted 08-15-2020 06:57 AM
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fredtrav Member
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Headshot Member
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astro-nut Member
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posted 08-15-2020 10:57 AM
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Buel Member
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posted 08-15-2020 02:59 PM
Jerry Bostick;
I have only great memories of Don. He had a knack for quickly getting to the heart of problems and arriving at reasonable solutions. Even though he headed the Test Division, he believed that we tended to over test space hardware. He had little patience for what he called "slow learners."
star51L Member
Posts: 380 From: Vilano Beach, FL, USA Registered: Aug 2002
posted 08-13-2020 06:33 PM
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