Donald Wayne Staffon

Funeral Services for Donald Wayne Staffon will be held on Thursday, December 3, 2020, at 1:00 pm at First Baptist Church of Killeen, 3310 S. WS Young, Killeen, Texas. Committal Service with Military Honors will be held on December 3, 2020 at 3:00 pm at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery, 11463 State Highway 195, Killeen, Texas.

Donald Wayne Staffon, 76, was born on March 9, 1944 in Quanah, Texas and passed away on November 27, 2020 in Killeen, Texas.

Don was a native of the Texas panhandle, graduating from Quanah High School in 1962 and Tarleton State College with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 1967. Immediately after graduation, he enrolled in Officer Training School with the Air Force and accepted a commission as a Second Lieutenant. In June of 1969 he married Kathleen Cowan of Cross Plains.

He spent much of his military career as a navigator for the F-4 Phantom II fighter-bomber both stateside and in several overseas assignments and deployments, including Air Force installations in Korea, Spain, and Germany. During this time, he earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Utah. Don’s service would eventually bring him to Fort Hood as the Air Liaison Officer for the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division. He retired at the rank of Major in 1987.

After leaving service, he earned his real estate brokers’ license and then served in public education for over two decades, as an instructor for Central Texas College at the women’s prison in Gatesville, and then as a high school teacher with Copperas Cove ISD for 18 years. At Copperas Cove, he taught at the Crossroads Alternative Learning Center for his entire career, where he helped many students overcome significant challenges. He loved seeing his former students in the community and always spoke of them with pride.

Don was heavily involved in his local church, serving as a deacon and Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church Killeen. He was also an active member and occasional officer of the Kiwanis Club of Killeen. He loved talking with people and never met a stranger. He kept up with current events, and continued his passion for education into retirement, serving regularly as a substitute teacher in Florence ISD through October 2020, weeks before his death.

He is preceded in death by his father, Francis Charles Staffon, mother, Marjie Ramona Bohanan, and sister, Mona Sue Ashley. He is survived by his brother, Charles Staffon of McMinnville, Oregon, his wife of 51 years, Kathleen Staffon of Killeen, daughter and son-in-law Dawn and Robert Lambert, Jr. of Copperas Cove, daughter Rebecca Staffon of Austin, and daughter and son-in-law Sarah and Tom Owens of Lumberton, Texas. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Caitlen Thody of Killeen, Jesse Lambert of Copperas Cove, Robert Lambert III of Copperas Cove, Anna Kate, Olivia, Clara, and Maribeth Owens of Lumberton, and one great-grandchild, Freya Russell of Killeen.

Visitation will be held on December 2, 2020 at 6:00 pm at Crawford-Bowers Funeral Home, 1615 S Fort Hood St, Killeen, Texas.