Don L. Hartfelder

When his 25-year-old granddaughter was a child, she asked Opa what she should do when he died. He looked at her and said: “Miss me. And then party like an animal.”

Old Donboy, or as his boy Eric calls him “the old bastard,” has made his way to the next big adventure. He loved his truck, his motorcycle, beer, women – and – of course, his kids, grandkids, and many friends. Maybe in that order.

In the end, he lived a simple life, but make no mistake, he lived life fully and he had many crazy experiences. Whether he was driving his beloved pickup truck to work or to help take care of his grandkids after school, he almost always stopped to have a beer (or more) at the Circus Room (or Boscos, or the Red Rock, there are too many to name) before going home to work a crossword puzzle or build a table or paint a rock (he was a frustrated artist), or let’s be honest – to enjoy one of his many Playboy magazines.

His motorcycle was his second most prized possession (behind his truck). We still talk about his road trip with his friend Terry when they rode their bikes up from Texas to Washington state in the month of May. He got his brand-new saddle bag stolen and road over the Rocky Mountains in a snowstorm and showed up on his son Erin’s doorstep looking like a drowned rat. All he wanted was a shower and a beer.

Don hated to fly and would only do so if forced by work or emergency. He would rather drive straight through for two days than catch a four-hour flight. “Stubborn” should have been his middle name.

He loved the Marines and was very proud of his service as a Navy Corpsman during the Vietnam war. Whenever he saw his son-in-law Joe and he had a beer in front of him he would inevitably say “I’d like to raise a glass to the United States Marines!”

He was “country strong” and his hands were like vices - he had arms like Popeye. He was a state-champion wrestler in high school and relived his glory days through his son Erin’s high school wrestling career. (He almost beat up an official for making the wrong call during one of Erin’s matches. Make sure you ask about that story at his celebration of life in March.)

He loved paper routes. He especially loved working with his son Eric – more realistically making his son Eric do all the work. He had Eric mowing lawns for all of Amarillo after waking him up at 3am to do the paper route with him. Eric can tell some crazy stories – including the time he almost got struck by lightning one morning on their route.

Don is survived by his 4 children and 8 grandchildren. He was pre-deceased by his wife Ada Delores (Dee) Chapman Hartfelder, also by the mother of his first 3 children Susan Jensven Hartfelder Cavanaugh, his brother Chuck Hartfelder and his parents Lee Constant Hartfelder and Anna Elizabeth Lane Hartfelder.

His children, Wendy Hartfelder (her husband Joe Martin and their daughter Delilah), Eric Hartfelder (his wife Angela and their children Susan, Michaela, and Liam), Erin Hartfelder (and his wife Jennifer and their daughter Freya), and daughter Leslie Hartfelder (her children Tatum, Todd, and Tristan – both boys are in the Navy!), are all mourning his passing in their own ways. His love language was working hard and providing the minimal essentials. All of his kids experienced Don differently – he was a Daddy; he was a buddy; he was a Texas Rangers spring training travel partner; he was a button pusher; he was a hard worker; he was handsome; he was an #$$%^&*^. He was loved.

The Bells have rung for our impish, mischievous, stubborn, ornery, rascally, cantankerous, and lovable Daddy, Grandpa, Opa, Donboy, Donny. May his afterlife be filled with Harleys, beer, and good/easy women.

R.I.P. Don L. Hartfelder - DOB 3/26/1943 – DOD 2/2/2022 – RIDE FREE DONBOY!!! WE LOVE YOU!

Memorial services will be held at a later date.