David Dondero
deceased

David Dondero died in January 1999 of pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife, Jill, daughters Meghan and Leah, and brother, Richard. He was on our football and baseball teams, on the latter he earning the name, "Homerun Dondero," in his position as catcher.

He spent 2 years in the Navy during Viet Nam. He completed majors in political science and history at the University of Washington, and had a lifelong career in marketing and sales, where he was renowned for his abilities to close the most difficult prospect. (from Mercer Island Reporter, Jan 27, 1999)

(Bob Weaver's memories)
"I'll never forget our Jr. Hi football game against Kirkland. Dave had the ball and was about to be tackled, he lowered his head and hit the guy helmet to helmet, the other guy went down and Dave kept going. Well, he hit two more the same way on the same run and he scored. That was simply amazing."

(Bruce Powell's memories)
"Throughout High school, Dave and I had no basis to talk. We came from such different points of view - I thought he was a "hood" and he probably thought I was a goody-2-shoes. But on one of the last nights of our graduation, late in the evening, Dave and I ended up on the tennis court very late at night, just talking. At that late moment we talked about many things and I realized that Dave was smart, interested and very strong. I was haunted by the lack to interaction that Dave and I shared in high school. At the 20th reunion we again talked, and once again i realized how much it was a loss that we did not connect earlier. I will always remember that night at graduation, when my idea of Dave was so profoundly changed."


(Don Pravitz's memories)
Where do I start with my memories of David Dondero? It’s hard to narrow down the many Dondario stories, but for lack of time and space, here are my top 3. One was when we were at MIHS, the other two were in our post-high school “young adult” days. All are examples of what became commonly known as “David, just being David” or “Pulling a Dondero.”

1. In our senior year, for some inexplicable reason Coach Waddington believed that baseball players should be well-conditioned athletes, so he insisted that we jog from the high school to the practice field at the center of the island and back again afterwards. Dedicated jock that he was, David decided to beat the system by parking his ’57 Plymouth on the east side of the HS. David and I (and two other seniors who shall remain nameless, but you know who you are) would then pile into the “beast” and drive to Island Park Elementary. Once there, we would spray our faces with water, fall in behind the last jogging teammates and huff and puff the final 100 yds. to the field for practice. Funny thing is that we thought we were pulling something over on Good Time, but I now realize that he probably knew of David’s great scheme all along.

2. One summer, during our post-high school days, David, Jerry Lane, Don Pingree and I played a lot of doubles tennis at the MI Rec Center. The even-tempered person we all knew, David had a habit of throwing his racket after hitting a bad shot. Getting tired of buying new rackets every other week, David came up with what he declared was the perfect solution. By purchasing the most expensive racket available he reasoned that he would be more careful and resist the temptation of destroying such a costly racket. When David showed up with his newest racket, and before we started play, he pulled out a previously mangled racked and leaned it up against the net pole. Why? According to David, when he made a bad shot, instead of destroying his new, expensive racket, he would merely walk over, pick up and use his older racket for temper tantrum purposes. First bad shot, you guessed it . . . in a kneejerk reaction, he smashed his shinny new racket to the ground. But the look of shock and disbelief on his face was absolutely priceless. Needless to say, we all hit the ground, rolling in laughter at “David, just being David.”

3. Finally, again in our “young adult” life, my wife and I, along with Don and Julie Pingree were invited to David’s house for dinner with he and his wife Marilyn (wife #1). After a wonderful dinner and dissert, we sat around the dinner table in conversation when David got up, excused himself and left the room. The rest of us continued talking for what seemed like a half hour when we began to wonder why David had not returned. Fearing that something may be wrong, Marilyn left the room to find him. Upon her return she said that we would have see this! When we all approached his bedroom door, there was David, in his pajamas, in bed and sound asleep for the night. So much for stimulating dinner guests. Prime example of “Pulling a Dondero.”

I won't even start on our golf and skiing adventures, but that’s the guy we all knew and loved. David was a person who lit up every room he ever entered, albeit sometimes for the most inappropriate reasons. Like many classmates, I miss David. But his memory is kept alive by all the Dondero stories we will have to tell for many years to come.

Email the webmaster if you have any favorite memories.

 

updated 7/18/12