Donald W. Alexander's Obituary
Donald Walton Alexander, 98, passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 1, 2020. Born in Bowling Green, Kentucky to the late John William and Hazel (nee Nicholson) Alexander on January 29, 1922. Don is preceded in death by his wife of 60 blessed years, Mildred, who passed away in 2004; three brothers Wiliam, Robert, and Carl. Don is survived by his children Leslie K. (Ronald) Gerboc, Donald P. (Rae) Alexander, and Linda S. (Howard) Kerr; grandchildren Scott (Kristine) Gerboc, Melissa (Bryan) Muche, Shawn (fiancée Raichal) Gerboc, Andrew (Holly) Alexander, Kellen Alexander, Aubrey Alexander, Colby Alexander, Courtney (Ryan) Lloyd, and Christopher Kerr; great-grandchildren Madisyn, Lauryn, Daniel, Alayna, Michael, Rory, Rosie, Grace, and Lillian; brother Edward (Doris) Alexander; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
“Two weeks ago my Dad tested positive for COVID. He was 98 with no pre-existing medical conditions. In fact, he wasn’t even on any meds. He was physically fit for his age and walked without the aid of a cane or a walker. He passed away yesterday and I can’t stress strongly enough how important it is that we all respect the power of this virus. As my niece, Courtney says, “Just wear your damn mask.” My Dad was a WWII vet. He served in the Army Air Corps. He was stationed in Sardinia, Italy. He was a tail gunner in a B-26 bomber and flew 69 missions. He often returned from those missions with flak holes in his plane. He saw his best friend’s plane shot down...a plane he was initially supposed to be in. He was a gentle, humble man. He never talked about his unbelievably heroic air battles. Sixty-nine times he went to bed knowing it might be his last night on earth. Yet, for a reason only known to God, he returned 69 times safely. As a tail gunner, he had to crawl thru the plane to his spot in the tail. Once in place, it was such a small space, he had to take his parachute off and place it next to him. Over the course of a mission that could last for 6-8 hours, he had to kneel most of that time as he worked the guns. At the altitude they flew at, the temps inside the plane were as cold as 40 below zero. He wore a heated jacket but the gloves he wore to work the guns weren’t sufficient to keep his hands warm. Frostbite wasn’t uncommon. The oxygen mask he wore occasionally malfunctioned. When it did, he had to take it off and fix it. With freezing hands it was difficult. It wasn’t unheard of to hear of a tail gunner not being able to fix it fast enough and die from lack of oxygen. For those reasons and more obvious ones like being shot down, the average lifespan of a tail gunner was between 2 weeks and 2 months. My Dad spent over 2 and 1/2 years as a tail gunner. That he survived that horror show was nothing short of a miracle. He was handsome and a war hero. He could have had his pick of any trophy wife. But he picked a woman who was very pretty but with a physical disability. She had polio as an infant and had severe scoliosis and a dysfunctional arm. My mom turned out to be a miracle mom. He was always guided by wisdom, faith, and the right thing to do. The day he picked my mom was his greatest decision in life. He coached my baseball teams even tho , at first, he didn’t really have an interest in baseball. He never missed any of my races, even tho he often worked two jobs. He was the gold standard of the Greatest Generation. We were looking forward to his 100th birthday in Jan of 2022 but God had other plans. God blessed my Dad with a great life. And just as God blessed him throughout life, He spared him from pain and discomfort in the end, despite the ravaging disease COVID can be, and brought him home to a physically perfect wife and Mom.” -- A tribute to a great father from his son.
Don was a very active member of the Holy Cross Lutheran Church. He was always up, out, and about doing things and staying active. He was an incredible man, father, and grandfather. Don was a fighter until the very end. He will be dearly missed.
A committal service will take place at Sunset Memorial Park located 6265 Columbia Rd., North Olmsted 44070 privately. In lieu of flowers please make donations to Cleveland Metroparks Development 4101 Fulton Parkway Cleveland, OH 44144.
What’s your fondest memory of Donald?
What’s a lesson you learned from Donald?
Share a story where Donald's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Donald you’ll never forget.
How did Donald make you smile?
