Donald Harry Pieper

Pieper, Donald Harry age 93 passed away peacefully after a short illness, to be with his Lord and Savior, Thursday March 30, 2017. He was born on September 2, 1923 in Tustin, California. He is survived by his beloved wife of 70 years, Alice D. Pieper. He was preceded in death by his sister Audrey Forney. Mr. Pieper is survived by his loving children, daughter Janelle Pieper Young, son Reid Pieper, granddaughter Delise Russell (David), and great grandsons Owen Russell and Miles Russell. He is also survived by nieces Sherrill Smith, Lori Goodfriend, and nephews Bill Schroeder and Phil Forney. Don was a graduate of Tustin High School class of 1941, where he served as senior class president and captain of the championship basketball team of the Southern California Central Division of 1941. He was also captain of the baseball team and was invited to Cincinnati to try out for major league Cincinnati Reds baseball team, but World War II intervened and he was inducted into the army air corps in 1942. Don served in the European theater as a radar technician and was also deployed to England to supervise and operate radar over the English Channel. He later served in France, Italy, and Germany. Upon returning to Tustin after the war, he married Alice Iverson, the love of his life and his lifelong partner in business, golf, travel, and in the Lord. He worked for many years in the real estate division of Exxon, before embarking in a career in commercial real estate. With Alice, together they created a successful commercial real estate portfolio. The Pieper family, with children Janelle and Reid, began traveling in the early 60,s camping throughout the western US and taking their first trip to Hawaii in 1965. This trip to Hawaii would be repeated some 25 times along with another 20 cruises with other family members. Don was also an avid sports fan and golfer. He enjoyed his membership at Mission Hills Country Club where he was proud of his 2 hole in ones. Don was formerly a member of Orange Presbyterian Church, where he served many years as an Elder and a Trustee, and was more recently a member of Trinity United Presbyterian Church Santa Ana. Don was known as a gentle man of character and will thought of fondly as he will be missed. A public graveside memorial service will be held at Fairhaven Memorial Park, Saturday April 29th at 4:00pm.