Donald Raymond Earhart

All who knew and loved Don will remember him for his contagious smile, positive outlook and kind words. He was a wonderful husband, loving and very proud dad and grandpa. He grew up in Clarinda, Iowa where he loved hunting, swimming, acting and scouting; becoming an Eagle Scout. He then joined Woolworths and worked for them for 35+ years before moving on to AC Moore and then Terra West. He and Donna met at Woolworths in Madison, WI and together they called 10 cities in 6 different states home during their 53 years of marriage. Throughout all of these locations and many more he and Donna loved to jump in the car and take in the sights on an “afternoon drive”. More recently these “drives” took place across the country in their RV. His favorite trip led them to the Outer Banks of North Carolina where the entire family joined them for a week at the beach. His children and grandchildren will always remember him as the fun loving grandpa that loved not only watching them play, but joining in whether it was splashing in the pool, learning to golf, or hitting the ski slopes. While he always attended Mass with our family, he officially converted to Catholicism in 1989. After this, he was active in many parishes and took great pride in being a Eucharistic Minister. He always exuded optimism and grace, especially as he faced cancer in the last 6 months.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Donna (Saumweber) Earhart; daughters Dawn (Steve) Gresham of Wisconsin, Deanne (Bill) Fay of Arizona and Dana (Darian) Litif of Henderson, Nevada; grandchildren Katie, Matt, Annie, Jack Gresham; Colleen, Daniel, Sean Fay; and DJ Litif; brother and sisters-in-law George, Sharon, and Paula Saumweber ; nieces and nephews Cheryl (Saumweber) Knudson, John Saumweber, Rhonda (Falk) Nordbrock, and Roger Falk, as well as numerous great-nieces, great-nephews and friends.

He is preceded in death by his parents Helen and Ray Earhart and his sister Barbara and brother-in-law Darrell Falk.

Visitation will be at Palm Cheyenne Mortuary 7400 W. Cheyenne Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89129 from 5 to 7pm Friday, July 14. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 1811 Pueblo Vista Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89128 on Saturday July 15th at 11:00am. Join us in wearing bright colors in celebration of Don’s life. Burial will take place at a later date.

In lieu of flowers memorials are appreciated to Nevada Cancer Research Foundation.