In Memoriam: Don Summers
In Memoriam: Don Summers
Don Alney Summers was born in Los Angeles, California on March 15, 1934. A descendant of true Owens Valley pioneers, Don was raised in Bishop and graduated from Bishop Union High School in 1952. As a young man, Don worked as a cowboy in the Owens Valley and near Tonopah, Nevada. He also spent many summers working as a packer at the Mammoth Lakes Pack Outfit, which was owned by his father Lee Summers. Don enlisted in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War, and later went on to have a long career in the construction industry in Los Angeles.
Don married Francis Elster in 1966 and had a loving marriage with Francis until her passing in 1991. Don and Francis had two children together, Glen and Jason Summers, and also raised Francis’s two children from a prior marriage, Miranda Sacharin and Jeff Warren.
Later in life, Don moved to the San Diego area where he met Dolores “Dee Dee” Franzen. Don had a loving relationship with Dee Dee for over twenty years, spending every summer together at Flathead Lake, Montana with Dee Dee’s large, welcoming family.
Don passed away at the age of 87 on November 21, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. He is survived by his two sons, Glen and Jason Summers, his as well as by six grandchildren. He will be missed by all who knew him.
A memorial service will be held at the East Line Street Cemetery on Friday, November 10 at 10:30 am.
