Donald Godley Searson

Don was born in Beaufort, South Carolina on November 26, 1940 to Zacharius and Mae Searson. He graduated from Allendale High School and continued on to receive a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of South Carolina. During high school and college, he held many different jobs to help out his family and to pay for his education, ranging from driving a school bus his junior and senior years of high school, to working as a plumber’s apprentice for his uncle. Don was accepted to law school and attended one year. After that first year, he agreed to drive a friend’s trailer to Houston from South Carolina; his plan was to make his way back from Houston to South Carolina working odd jobs along the way and giving him the chance to see more of the South that he loved. Once he arrived in Houston, he was offered the opportunity to earn some extra money for the trip home by working temporarily in a hotel. It was in this hotel, that he met the love of his life.

Don married Shirley Jones on April 18, 1966, in Houston, Texas; they were married 48 years. They lived all over the United States while Don pursued his career in commercial wall covering sales. Don’s career allowed him to fulfill his dream of traveling the world – visiting numerous countries in Asia – besides living all over the US from Florida to Ohio to Georgia to Texas.

After retiring from sales, Don worked for several years as a mortgage broker with his daughter. Upon retirement, Don devoted himself to caring for Shirley and to volunteering with his church’s ministries. He thoroughly enjoyed his duties as head usher. He was passionate about the SLAB program serving the homeless and other less fortunates in southern Fort Worth; regularly collecting car loads of donations and delivering them to the distribution center and devoting at least one weekend a month to handing out those donations. Don was also dedicated to helping the children of Grapevine through the various ministries provided by his church, regularly volunteering to serve lunches during holiday breaks and the summer to those children in need.

Of all the various roles Don fulfilled, the most important to him was that of husband, father and grandfather. Everyone who ever met Don knew that everything he did was for the benefit of his wife, his children and his grandchildren. On any given Friday night in the Fall, he could be found at a high school football game cheering on his son, John, as he coached offensive line. One of his proudest moments was when his son’s team won the state championship earlier this December. On Saturdays and Sundays, he was found at whatever sporting event his grandchildren were competing in – from lacrosse to baseball, basketball to volleyball, softball to track – he always joked that he’d have to find a part-time job to cover the gas of attending so many events each week all over the Metroplex. Don also attended numerous plays, concerts, awards ceremonies, church services where his grandchildren were performing, rarely missing an event for any of the three.

Don is survived by his children John Searson and his wife, Rachel; Bobbie Searson and her husband, Jesse Sustaita; his grandchildren: Tad and Reagan Searson and Zach Searson-Sustaita; and his niece Jessica Kanewske and her husband, Will.

Don is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Shirley; his parents, Zacharius and Mae; and his brother, Chris.

The memorial service will be held at 10:30 am on Monday, January 2 at First United Methodist Church of Grapevine. Rev. John Mollet and Rev. Rick Mang will be officiating.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to First United Methodist Church of Grapevine Feed-Our-Kids and SLAB programs; 422 Church Street, Grapevine, Texas 76051.