H. Donald Campbell

HENRY DONALD CAMPBELL, 83, of Arlington, Virginia, died on February 5, 2024 of heart failure after emergency surgery for a broken hip. At the time of his death he was a resident of Goodwin House at Bailey’s Cross Roads in Falls Church, Virginia. Don Campbell was born on February 2, “Groundhog’s Day,” 1941. His father was Edmund Douglas Campbell, an attorney, and his mother was Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell, an educator. Don was a twin. Growing up in Arlington, he attended John Marshall Elementary and Stratford Junior High and graduated from Washington-Lee High School in 1958. He played the tympani and was percussionist for the W-L Orchestra. He was active in St. Mary’s Episcopal Church. In the afternoons after school, he and his twin brother delivered the Evening Star and the Northern Virginia Sun to households in the Country Club Hills neighborhood. Summers included the Transylvania Music Camp and family camping trips. Don was an excellent mathematician. He graduated with a B.S. in Accounting from the American University in Washington in 1966. Following graduation he became a Project Administrator for the United States General Accounting Office (GAO), later renamed the Government Accountability Office. Early in his career he became qualified as a Certified Public Accountant. Don loved music, books, nature shows, and all things PBS. He was encyclopedic about sports. He had an unwavering loyalty to the Washington teams and could hold losing seasons lightly. He read the Washington Post every day-- and though he was well-informed-- he saw news as an unfolding story to be held with curiosity but without dogmatic opinion. He saved his opinions for other matters. A lifelong career as a CPA was a perfect fit for his ingrained fidelity to procedure and process. He was a man of broad interests, but his main interest was family. If we are dots scattered across a map, “Uncle Don” is the man who connected us. He lovingly kept up with countless cousins, nieces, and nephews (along with great nieces and nephews). While he celebrated the accomplishments of others, he never gossiped about the difficult chapters of a person’s life. He carefully curated family history. He chronicled the contribution of his parents, Edmund and Elizabeth Campbell, to the growth and development of Arlington through the Second World War and the overthrow of racial segregation. He documented his father’s work as a civil rights attorney and his mother’s work as a founder of television station WETA. Following his retirement, Don joined the Board of the non-profit Communities in Schools of Arlington as volunteer treasurer. He also served as treasurer and Senior Warden of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Arlington, where he had been one of the original members. Don was generous. He established a foundation especially to support charities that benefited children. These included feeding programs, funds for children in war-torn areas, funds for children who needed transportation for healthcare, funds for a therapeutic horseback riding program, and funds for children who have been orphaned by AIDS in South Africa. He contributed to Red Cross disaster relief and established a scholarship at Mary Baldwin. His great joy in philanthropy highlighted the transformational power of giving. He was a man of deep faith. His life was a witness. He readily and joyfully shared the Moravian traditions learned from his grandfather, J. Kenneth Pfohl, a bishop in the Moravian Church. He provided his siblings, nieces, and nephews with the daily devotions of the Moravian Church, The Daily Texts, as well as with annual supplies of the famous super-thin Moravian ginger Christmas cookies. Don Campbell believed that change was always possible-- that we could always strive to be more and do more. He shared with many that the secret he uncovered was to pause, be patient, and be positive. He called these principles “The 3 P’s.” Don is survived by his twin brother, Benjamin Campbell (Annie) of Richmond, Virginia, and his sister-in-law, Sheila Campbell of Fort Walton Beach, Florida; by his nieces, Susanna Campbell (Matthias Zwicker) of Takoma Park, Maryland; Peggy Ahern (Tom) of Prescott Valley, Arizona; Amy Rynearson (Greg) of Fort Walton Beach, Florida; and Joanna Johnson (Brian) of Phoenix, Arizona; by his nephews, Philip Campbell (Heather Watt) of Richmond, Virginia; William Holt (Troy) of East Setauket, New York; Matthew Dolci (Jodie) of New Kent, Virginia; and John Dolci (Megan Roy) of Richmond, Virginia; by his great nephew, Brent Perkins (Nicole) of Chandler, Arizona; and by his great nieces: CJ, Carina, Eleanor, and Sylvia Dolci, Virginia and Rebecca Holt, and Georgia Campbell Zwicker. He was predeceased by his brother, Edmund D. Campbell, Jr., and his sister, Virginia Campbell Holt. Don’s funeral, the Burial Office of the Episcopal Church, will be held at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 4250 North Glebe Road in Arlington at 11:00 on Saturday, February 24, followed by interment of his ashes in the church’s memorial garden. A reception will follow. Gifts in his memory may be given to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (www.saint-peters.org) , to Dream Catchers Therapeutic Riding (dreamcatchers.org), or to the Princess Basma Child Rehabilitation Centre, Jerusalem (www.basma-centre.org).