Don Moffett
Born on July 29, 1924, in Tacoma, Washington, Donald Romaine Moffett, Jr., grew up in Bronxville, New York. After graduating from high school there in 1942, he was turned down for military service for medical reasons. He found a way to serve with the American Field Service and became a volunteer ambulance driver with the British Eighth Army in North Africa and Italy until he was discharged in 1944.
His first visit to Nantucket in 1945 cemented his lifelong love for the island. He brought his wife, Mary Warren, for the first time in 1955. With their sons, they spent most summers in ‘Sconset and became year-round residents in 1993.
Don’s business career was in sales management. It began in the early days (of what would become computer technology) with IBM and then with several large business forms companies. He retired from UARCO, Inc., as Vice President of sales in 1989.
Being a volunteer was important to Don, whether it be with teenagers in his local church, international work with the Institute of Cultural Affairs doing village development and assisting non-profit groups with strategic planning. On Nantucket, Don was a long-time board member and volunteer of what is now Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket.
Many friends enjoyed the exceptional paintings that Don did, especially of island scenes and landscapes. He played tennis at the Siasconset Casino for many years and was a member of the Sankaty Head Golf and Beach Club.
Don is survived by his wife Mary Warren; his son Donald, daughter-in-law Kristal and grandchildren Lily and Harry, all of Topanga, California; son James of New York City and Don’s brother Warren of Anderson, Indiana.
Don Moffett, You Are Gone and You Are Here
Don was a crusty compassionate soul,
There when you needed him.
No nonsense and to the point.
Why couldn’t the Kemper Building have decent elevators
So that we wouldn’t have to waste time turning the crank
To get each other where we needed to be?.
Why aren’t you raising the money
That is needed to do the mission?
What else is so important that you can’t be raising money?
Don was not afraid to ask questions and hold accountability
And at the heart of those questions
Was compassion.
Don, you might have moved on,
But you are here.
You are here when we ride the computerized elevators
In the ICA building that is now turning eco-green.
You are here
As we ask those who voice dreams to do the
Nuts and bolts work necessary to achieve them.
You are here
As we focus care on family, community and nation
And go beyond the comfortable
To do what has not yet been done to help shepherd in a
More just world.
You are with us as we,
Like you,
Venture off the beaten path
And require excellence.
We miss you, Don.
But you are here.
~~ Elise Packard
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Another gentle giant–Don was tough as a saddle leather wound around pure care. I remember a story Mary Warren told me one day. Their beloved cat had come to a time, either through age or illness or both, that it needed to be euthanized. So, that morning as Mary Warren was on her way to the Institute, she and Don stopped by the vet’s. After the cat’s death, they left the office and got into their car where they simply sat and talked–and Don cried. And he said through his tears, “I didn’t even cry when my mother died.” I was so touched by that story and have returned to it in my mind many times over the years since then.
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Don, the father, who cared for his sons through first-class educations and their divergent vocational choices.
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Don, the husband, who sent Mary Warren off on trips around the world to perform her own magic with Order members, local Guardians, women in villages and sophisticated urban settings. And he took care of the home-front while she worked down at Kemper–he left grocery lists for her, so that they had the food needed for the dinner he had planned.
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Don, the Guardian who traveled to consults around the world, the businessman who never failed to ask tough questions about Institute finances (and whatever else that struck him as being “off-target”) but supported us through it all. How much we will miss him.
Mary Warren, we are thinking now of you, as we keep you, D.W., and Jim in our prayers. Grace and Peace,
~~ Doris and Charles Hahn
Justin and I are thinking a lot about the Moffett’s and the part they played in our lives. Until I read this I never knew that Don was born in our town, Tacoma, Washington! He had such a full and meaningful life.
~~. Del and Justin Morrill
Big blessings and songs to Mary Warren. Thank you for being there for me when I was a teenager.
~~ Jon Mark Elizondo
Prayerfully and with deep thoughts of condolence, we join Mary Warren and family in celebrating Don’s completed Life.
~~ Joyce (Ollison) Sloan
Please include our sincere sympathies to Mary Warren when next you communicate with her. We have many memories from the West Side and since.
~~ Nan and Bill Grow
Wow. I feel like I am watching the saints as they pass through into the other world. Another great Spirit man leaves us. May Don rest in peace eternally.
~~ Tracy E. Longacre
We stand in gratitude for such giants in our Order that both Rod and Don were. What a sign the North Shore cadre was for all of us! And of all the men in that community, it was Don who took the LENS program so seriously. I had the honor to be in LENS programs he taught and his witness as a businessman was profound. He played such a critical role in keeping our public face “clean” and was willing to do whatever he was asked. I will miss him, but we all are blessed to have been called “colleague” and friend by our dear friend Don. Our prayers are with Mary Warren and Don, may the Peace of God be with you now and forever. Grace & Peace, and Love,
~~ Jack & Judy Gilles