Donald Abbott

Donald W. Abbott, age 70, passed away on January 8, 2018 after a long battle with cancer. Don grew up in Lakeview Oregon. He loved eastern Oregon his whole life, spending many days there exploring, fishing, hunting and camping. He knew the location of great desert camping spots, including the remotest hot springs where at night they are just a desert pool illuminated only by starlight. When Don was talking about these places you could feel how they were an important part of him. Don was a very smart and talented man, a Vietnam veteran, an excellent manager at work, a licensed geologist (Central Washington Univ Grad), an accomplished field archaeologist, an avid gardener and a great cook. He was quite a fruit canner and also made excellent sauerkraut! Don was a classy man: he hunted game birds with a 16 gauge shotgun over English setters; owned and restored old Volvos and touring motorcycles; drove a bug-eye sprite in his youth; kayaked on both the east and west coast; and tramped the braes and dells of New Zealand, Great Britain and Ireland. Don’s greatest passion was motorcycle touring. He was an old-school, run-what-you-brung motorcyclist. His preferred motorcycle marque was BMW. Many of his trips had no particular destination; the ride and the journey itself was the thing. He was most happy spending 14-hour days in the saddle traveling the backroads of the Pacific NW and northern Rockies, the hot canyons of eastern Oregon, or threading the serpentine old highway over the White Bird Summit in Idaho. The freedom he drew from riding through canyons of fir and cedar or viewing vistas on the high desert was rivaled only by the pleasure of sampling fresh pie in the rural cafes he visited. He’ll be greatly missed by those who have shared trips with him along the way. Don had a very strong inner curmudgeon, you could count on an honest and sometimes blunt opinion at any time on most any subject. Even as his cancer progressed when he was asked gingerly how he was doing, he would answer “well, I’m dying” with a loud voice and a smile. He fought his way back from a heart attack when he was 55 and after recovering he told his friends that when his heart was stopped he heard rock and roll music; after that experience he thought a little more highly of the afterlife. Don used to say that he was looking forward to the day when his biggest decision would be whether to go to the beach and get high or get high and go to the beach. It was a real pleasure to know Don, we will all miss him greatly and when “that day” comes for the rest of us, we are all looking forward to hanging out on the beach with our good friend. There are so many things that will remind us of Don. When we get those reminders we will smile and think about the experiences we were fortunate enough to share. Don is survived by his wife Holly Cushman, his sister Jane (Bill) Barrett, and his nieces and great nephews. The family would like to sincerely thank the Compass Care Hospice caregivers and the staff at Cottage in the Meadow. To Sara E., Renee, and the Cottage: you made Don laugh while you cared for and comforted him. And to the baristas and his coffee mates at the 72nd Starbucks: thank you for your greetings, coffee and great discussions. At his request, there will be no formal memorial service. Later this Spring, there will be a gathering for friends and family to share memories. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Donald Abbott, please visit our flower store.