Donald Adams Mecham

Donald was born to Leo & Malinda May Adams Mecham on April 22, 1929 in Riverdale, Idaho.
He was the 13th of 13 children.
When he was 5 years old, his family moved to Whitney Idaho. He grew up on the farm milking cows,
raising farm crops and he had a special love for horses.
He was educated in Franklin and Preston Idaho. He graduated from Preston High School in 1947.
Donald served in the United States Air Force from 1948 to 1952 and was stationed for a time in England.
On April 17, 1952, he married his sweetheart Jeannine Clossner in the Logan Utah Temple.
Donald was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and served in many callings throughout his life, including Boy Scouts of America in several capacities for over 20 years. He served as a member of the Stake High Council, as Bishop and was ordained a Patriarch at age 50.
Donald attended Utah State University from 1954 to 1958 graduating with a Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineering.
He was a member of Sigma Tau, an honorary fraternity for Electrical Engineers.
Upon graduation, he worked at Hill Air Force Base on the F101, the fighter jet of that time.
In 1962, he worked for Pan American, where he worked on space tracking stations for the Mercury Space Program.
In 1965 he accepted a position with the U.S. Army Proving Grounds at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. He worked on several exciting projects including unmanned aircraft and Global Positioning Systems.
After retiring in 1988, he and Jeannine served a mission in Hattiesburg Mississippi. This was one of the highlights of his life.
They moved to Gilbert Arizona in 1992 and bought a hobby farm. Donald enjoyed growing vegetables, raising beef cattle, chickens and horses.
On June 21, 2006, he lost his wife of 53 years. This left him lonely and heartbroken.
He met and married Janis Lassiter in the Jordan River Temple on March 31, 2007. Donald became youthful and found joy again. Donald and Janis served a mission in Alabama.
In 2017 they moved to Burlington Iowa where he spent the remainder of his life. Together they made many wonderful memories. During that time, he was deeply loved by the Parker family and he loved them.
Donald was preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Malinda Mecham, his wife Jeannine Clossner, and six brothers and six sisters.
He is survived by his wife Janis Mecham, Burlington Iowa, son Michael (Pennee) Mecham, Smithfield Utah, his daughter Kaydawn Mecham, West Haven Utah, Cindy Tecca, Phoenix Arizona, three grandchildren Heidi Rossback (Edward Rossback, deceased), Karaleigh Mecham, and Timothy Mecham (Nicole) and two great grandchildren, Noelle Mecham and Liam Guy Mecham. They all loved him very much.
With Janis, he is survived by nine children and their children, which brought him much happiness and love.
Dad loved all of his family and will be dearly missed.