Donald Barnett: A Celebration of Life
Donald "Don"
Classen Barnett passed peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, July 14,
2015. He was 97 years old. A life-long resident of
Anchorage, Alaska, Don was born in
Meadville, Pa., on March 16,
1918, to
Earl and
Hetty Barnett. Don, along with his mother; brothers, Bob and
Glen; and sister,
Virginia, arrived in
Anchorage aboard the Steamship Northwestern in 1922, to join his father, who had traveled north the year before. Don enjoyed all that
Alaska had to offer and had a great love of the outdoors. In his younger years he would frequently boat across
Cook Inlet to hunt and fish with family and friends.
Having a passion for flying, he bought an
Aeronca Champ in 1948 and obtained his pilot's license the same year. An exceptionally hard worker, Don was dedicated to any task he set himself to, from delivering newspapers as a child for $
1.00 per month to working with the
Alaska Road Commission to build the original road into
Denali National Park.
A man with a keen mathematical mind, he possessed an ability to fix or make anything. It was a natural fit when, in
1939, he joined the
Alaska Railroad as a machinist's apprentice, after doggedly showing up every day at 8 a.m. until he was offered the position. On Dec. 19,
1951, after meeting at a dance held at the
Elks Lodge, Don married Dorothea
Urban, a nurse.
Together they had two children:
Thomas, born in
1955, and
Elizabeth, born in
1956. As a family they spent winters skiing at Arctic
Valley, and camped every weekend on
Kenai Lake in the summers. Both Don and Dorothea's lives revolved around their children and they spent much of their time supporting their children's endeavors. In
1979, he retired from the
ARR as a
Master Mechanic, spending the next few years with Dorothea, until she succumbed to cancer in
October 1983. In the fall of
1984, Don married
Eleanor Smalley and together they had an active and social life. They were devoted to the
Pioneers of Alaska and traveled extensively across the globe, experiencing everything from the thrill of flying the
Concorde to
Paris to crossing the
Atlantic on the
Queen Elizabeth 2. They enjoyed their retirement and the community at
Chester Park until Eleanor's death in
2007. Don remained fiercely independent into the last years of his life, adhering tenaciously to his routines and living, as always, with an eye toward moderation and consistency. His time was often spent with family: weekly Sunday night dinners, trips to the Smalley cabin and doting on his great-granddaughter,
Paige. Don is survived by the family who loved him: children, Elizabeth (Barnett) Millikan, Thomas and Elizabeth Barnett and
Glenn and
Cindy Smalley; and grandchildren,
Brian Smalley and family,
Patricia (Smalley) Erikson and family, Erinn Barnett, Britton Barnett and Grant Millikan. Those who wish to celebrate Don's life are invited to attend a
Memorial Service on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2015, 11 a.m., at Chester Park,
2020 Muldoon
Road. Arrangements were with
Janssen's
Evergreen Memorial Chapel.
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