We are men who lead, serve, protect and defend, whether we are giving out Coats for Kids, donating wheelchairs, lending a helping hand in disaster relief efforts, supporting local pregnancy centers or providing top-quality financial products.
Only a slice of Don Heitzman’s distinguished service to the Knights of Columbus was spent as a member of our council. Don, who died Aug. 14, 2014 at the age of 88, took his first degree in March 1950 back in his native Iowa and followed that with his major degree in May 1951. Don is survived by six children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by Mary, his wife of 61 years, and daughter Pam. Don and Mary met at a CYO dance. Don spent three years in the Army Air Force during World War II and then built a career in marketing. His work brought the family from the Midwest to Dallas in 1961. They settled in Oak Cliff and became part of the group that built St. Elizabeth of Hungary, which their children would attend school in route to Bishop Dunne. Daughter Becky Buddenbohn, who lives in Arlington, remembers attending KC breakfasts, spaghetti dinners and other activities back then. Don and Mary moved in 1990 to Cedar Hill, where Becky said her parents built their dream home overlooking Joe Pool Lake. “They built the master bedroom on the second floor so they could wake up with a view of the lake,” she said. Don became a member of Cedar Hill’s community development committee. He volunteered at Scottish Rite Hospital and with Habitat for Humanity. He knew how to have fun, too. Plenty of golf and rooting for the Texas Rangers. There were regular Monday night poker games that included former longtime Rangers equipment manager Joe Macko, himself a Dunne parent. “It was such a blessing for all of us in the family that they found Holy Spirit,” Becky said. “It’s such a great community. The church and the Knights meant a lot to him”.
