Don A. Doyle

Donald Arthur Doyle passed away Jan. 15, 2020, at Kalispell Regional Hospital. He was 88 years old.

Don was born on July 5, 1931, in Holstein, Iowa, to Clyde and Edna (Kuchel) Doyle. In 1937, the Doyle family moved to Kalispell, where Don attended school and graduated from Flathead High School in 1950. He excelled in many activities while in high school, but football was his calling, where he played halfback, linebacker and kicker.

Don made the Huskies team for the University of Washington, but he returned to Montana to play for the MSU Bobcats before leaving school to care for his mother. Shortly after her death, and one day after enlisting in the Air Force, he received an invitation to try out for the Green Bay Packers. He considered it an honor and duty to fight for his country during the Korean War, and he was a proud patriot his whole life.

Returning from overseas, he married Mary Valeda Enerson on January 10, 1954, in Whitefish, where they made their home. The union brought a son, Brian, in 1955, and a daughter, Katie, in 1966. In 1955, Don started work at the new Anaconda Aluminum Company as a timekeeper, and he retired there in 1985 as Safety Supervisor for Arco Aluminum. Don spent countless hours coaching Brian and other boys in peewee and Babe Ruth baseball. He served his community well as a Deacon at the First Presbyterian Church, as a Whitefish City Councilman, and as a Mason and Shriner.

After retirement, Don and Valeda moved to Meadow Lake Golf Course in Columbia Falls to relax and play golf. After the death of his beloved Valeda, Don built a home on Village Greens Golf Course, where he lived and golfed the last 27 years.

Don was preceded in death by his parents, wife, three sisters, and two brothers. He is survived by his son Brian (Connie), daughter Katie (Bob), grandchildren Emily, Taylor, and Zachary Bolam, sister Karen Cottet, and brother Joe Kucera. He also leaves behind many nieces and nephews.

Tentatively, the service will be held at Darlington Funeral Home on May 16, 2020 at 1 p.m. However, due to COVID-19, this may be simplified to a family grave side service at Woodland Cemetery at 1 p.m. on what would have been Don’s 89th birthday, July 5, 2020.