Wednesday, October 3, 2018
My condolences,
I worked with Don at Electric Boat for several of his 6+ years here in the early 2000's, and we were together with Michelle Lea on several trips made to different countries in Europe, particularly Hamburg, Germany where we made about 6 trips.
The first trip we went to Helsinki and Tu, Copenhagen, Hamburg Germany, and Amsterdam . We made some of our travel arrangements on the fly, and were brave enough to go from Copenhagen to Hamburg to Amsterdam by train partly because Don spoke some German and was comfortable in that mode of travel. So on the 2nd leg from Hamburg to Amsterdam Michelle and I were immersed in a game of cribbage and not paying attention when we realized we were at a stop where we needed to get off and change trains. Don was paying attention however, and brought it to our attention, and then headed out the door. But by the time Michelle and I gathered our bags and got to the door it was closed! Then the train started moving! I can still remember looking at Don's face as he stared at us from the platform - and the sinking feeling of now being lost in Europe! And we only had one cell phone amongst the 3 of us so had no way of communicating with Don!
Well, somehow Michelle and I conversed adequately with a conductor who advised us to get off at another stop along the way, where we successfully caught a different train and were only a couple hours later than the original schedule would have gotten us to Amsterdam. But Don, being so caring, checked the train schedules and waited for us to return assuming we'd get off at the next stop and do a U-turn on the next train back. By waiting he missed the original planned train and ended up about 8-hours late!
Fortunately Don was not angry with us, but a lesser man would have been; I truly regretted the imposition of our inattentiveness, but afterword we enjoyed a good laugh about this episode of the journey. And the rest of the trip went well; besides the work time we also toured Amsterdam together seeing the sites of the city and vicinity, visiting several museums, taking a canal tour and just enjoying each other’s company. And in our many later trips to Hamburg we had a multitude of other touring experiences outside the work time (including Salzburg and Vienna Austria). My experiences with Don, but working and our free time together, are the highlight of my 45-years at Electric Boat!
I enjoyed his company, his humor/wit, and marveled at his knowledge and critical thinking. I regret we lost touch since then, he was truly a gentleman and a great man! God bless him, and God bless you!
Bill Van Blarcom
