Donald Chiappetti

Donald Anthony Chiappetti, 92, died unexpectedly on Thursday morning, April 19, 2018 in Waxahachie, Texas. He was born on July 31, 1925 in Rochester, NY to Amedao & Minerva (Gaudiosi) Chiappetta. He attended & graduated St. Antoninus Catholic School in Newark, NJ. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps at age 17 & two months later on Sept 18, 1942 he was fighting for our country in WW II at Guadal Canal, Bougainville & Guam. In 1945 he bought his first car from his uncle Sal for $500, a Packard, which used a whopping 3 qts to a gallon of gas. Don was stationed at Lake Hurst, NJ for a short while he guarded the blimp station, better known as "Home of the Blimps" which were used back in those days as German submarine chasers. Thanks to him for buying that old Packard & the only officer in his company who knew how to drive, Don became driver & aide for his Commanding Officer, who later insisted Don apply to be commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant officer at the age of 19. Only a few Marines were selected to be commissioned & he was one of them. He transferred to Camp Lijeunne, NC & later attended Princeton for a year & a half studying Psychology. Duty called him to Tsingtao, China in 1948. He was one of the last China Marines. During the Korean War (1950-51), he served as aide to 3 generals, (1.) General Oliver P. Smith, (2.) General Lewis "Chesty" Puller, (3.) and full time aide to General Gerald C. Thomas. His request to General Thomas was, "I would like to serve at Pearl Harbor." which he did in 1951 for two years. After the war, Don transferred to Parris Island in 1953 & became officer in charge of the Drill Instructors School for 5 years; followed by Camp Lijeunne, NC (1957-59) as the Weapons Company Commander. He retired in 1963 as a USMC Major, with Honorable Discharge, serving his country 20+ years. When Don retired from the military, he was hired as manager of the Home Brand Jams & Jellies Co. in Richfield, MN. He said, "It was one of his sweetest jobs!" He later worked an additional 20 years for Control Data Corp., one of the major super computer companies in the 1960's. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club in Bloomington, MN & received the "Kiwanian of the Year" award in 1970. His first marriage to Nava Bowman was in 1947 where they resided in Bloomington, MN & raised their three sons, Clifford (a,k.a. Buzz), Michael & Glen.
He enjoyed building & designing furniture & small wood projects. He assembled & built grandfather clocks & gave them as gifts to his family. He hooked rugs. In 1980 he finished a 4'x6' rug of the Last Supper which took him over six months to finish then donated it to a Baptist Church in Bloomington, MN. He loved finding the best bargains before grocery shopping & felt that clipping coupons was money saved & spent wisely. Don enjoyed watching old movies, especially 1939 Tarzan movies starring Johnny Weissmuller. He loved listening to music from the Big Band Era & could remember words to most old songs - especially those sung by Robert Goulet, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin & his all-time favorite - Julie Andrews. Just the mention of Julie's name & he would burst out singing - "The Hills are alive - with the sound of music." He enjoyed working in the yard organizing flower beds & planting flower gardens. He built a 6' high wishing well with Snoopy the dog laying on top of the roof & Tweetie Bird sitting proudly on Snoopy's belly! Don enjoyed reminiscing with neighborhood war buddies. He wrote monthly articles for over 25 years for our community paper.
He was called many times as guest speaker at Parris Island for the World War II Drill Instructors Reunion & was asked to speak at local Orlando elementary schools about his experiences in World War II & the Korean War. Being born a Catholic, Don attended St. Antoninus Catholic School until High school. Don was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather & friend to many. He will definitely be missed.

Don was preceded in death by his parents Amedeo & Minerva Chiappetta, his first wife Nava Bowman-Chiappetti, his brother Amo; his (2) half sisters Elaine & Julie & his oldest son Clifford (a.k.a. Buzz).

He is survived by his loving wife of 23 years, Patricia; his half sister, Ann; his 2 sons, Michael and Glen; his 3 step sons, Ted, Kim and David; 11 grandchildren, Tristan, Ana, Nicole, Kayla, Brooke, Bailey, Keely, Mackey, Jacob, Zacary and Olivia; and his great-grandson, Rhett.

An inurnment memorial service with full military honors will be held at DFW National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas,TX at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 27, 2018
www.waynebozefuneralhome.com

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