Donald McCullough Batstone, Sr.'s Obituary
Donald Batstone, Sr. of El Granada, California passed away on January 21, 2019, three weeks short of his 91st birthday. For the past several years, Don struggled with myasthenia gravis, a rare neuromuscular auto-immune disorder that led to severe muscle weakness. He died from complications of this disorder while being treated at an inpatient nursing rehab. facility following a week-long hospitalization for the same.Don was born on February 12, 1928 in Sydney, Nova Scotia to Cecil and Margaret Batstone. Shortly after his birth, the family of six (one brother and two sisters) moved to neighboring New Waterford, Nova Scotia where Don lived throughout his high school days. Being Canadian, Don often joked about being born with hockey skates on his feet. He and his brother, Brennan, did, in fact, excel in hockey during their growing up days in New Waterford.In this small town, Don also developed a reputation for being a star baseball pitcher, throwing TWO no-hitters on the same day. Since he threw left-handed, his teammates nicknamed him “Lefty”, after the famous, Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Grove. Extended family members continued to affectionately call him Lefty throughout his lifetime. Hearing of his rare no-hitter feat, a couple of minor league baseball scouts dropped by the local barbershop in New Waterford inquiring as to where they could find Lefty Batstone. As fate would have it, Don’s father, Cecil, was getting his haircut that day at the same shop. Being a strict, man of faith, Cecil informed them that no son of his would end of playing professional baseball since games were held on Sundays; and that was that. On that day, Don’s potential, professional baseball career came to a screeching halt.After completing high school (and coinciding with the end of World War II), Don and his family moved from Canada to Worcester, Massachusetts where his father believed there were more opportunities for post-War employment than in Nova Scotia. He quickly enrolled at Clark University and started a major in business administration. After a few years at Clark, he took a break to attend Emmaus Bible School in the Chicago, Illinois area.It was at Emmaus that Don agreed to go on a double-date with a friend of his from the School. The evening went so well that he eventually married his friend’s (or maybe ex-friend’s) date, Ruth. After a year in Chicago, he moved back to Worcester to continue his studies in business, all the while writing copious letters to Ruth who lived in Champaign, Illinois. After only a handful of face-to-face dates, Don proposed to Ruth and they married on September 12, 1952.Immediately after the wedding, Don and Ruth moved to Boulder, Colorado where, after one year, Don completed his B.A. in business administration from the University of Colorado. Upon completion of his degree, Don accepted a finance position with General Electric (GE) in Schenectady, New York where their first child, Linda, was born. It was while living in Schenectady in 1954, that Don made an important personal decision to give up his Canadian citizenship and become a naturalized U.S. citizen.After a few years at GE, Don assumed a similar, finance position with Union Carbide in Chicago where their two sons, Don and David, were born. Since Don had a strong desire to have his own business, he eventually eschewed the large, corporate business world and big city life to become co-owner of Lane Furniture, a small, family-run furniture store in Ruth’s hometown of Champaign, Illinois. Later, Don and the other family co-owners started and operated an Ethan Allen store in the same area.Don’s Christian faith was one of the most important aspects of his life. During his time in Champaign, he was heavily involved in weekday and Sunday activities at Stratford Park Bible Chapel, serving as an elder, teaching Sunday School and even preaching. In addition, for years, he and Ruth led and participated in multiple Bible studies with friends from their church. While these activities consumed most of Don’s time outside of work, he also made time to be involved in his children’s lives by serving as president of the school’s PTA and attending his children’s many sporting and musical events.In 1970, after 12 years in Champaign, Don accepted a job in nearby Peoria, Illinois as finance controller of Carver Lumber Company. After 15 years in this position, he became business manager of Grace Presbyterian church, where Don and Ruth also worshipped on Sundays. Here, Don and Ruth provided guidance to and had an impact on many young people, including teaching a young married couples Sunday School class. In addition, one of Don’s great joys was leading a home Bible study for over 15 years with other couples his age. Don and Ruth’s home was always open to these couples, and their hospitality was warm, friendly, and generous.In 1995, Don and Ruth retired and left Peoria for Leesburg, Florida near Orlando where they lived a few blocks from his sister Agnes and his brother-in-law. Don thoroughly enjoyed getting reacquainted with his sister after over 40 years of living thousands of miles apart. Don and Ruth spent the first several years of their retirement traveling all over the U.S. and Canada by RV, covering the 48 contiguous U.S states. After five years in Florida, they made a cross-country move to Half Moon Bay, California to be close to their son David and their four grandchildren. After 61 years together, Ruth passed away in 2014 from lung cancer.Don was known as the consummate family man, dedicated to his wife, children and grandchildren. He consistently modeled what it means to be a loving husband, father and grandfather. When Ruth decided in her 40’s to go back to school to get her B.S. in nursing while also working full-time as an RN, Don supported her by taking on many of the household chores such as cleaning the house and preparing meals for his children. For a man of his generation and background, this was unique and a lasting model for his children.He supported his children throughout their growing up days by by attending their primary and secondary school extracurricular events and helping them through their college days. Over the years, he supported his grandchildren by attending their many soccer, baseball, basketball, theatrical and musical events. Up until his final days, his children and grandchildren loved visiting him watching sports on TV, discussing topics of the day and enjoying his presence.Family and friends alike remember Don as friendly, engaging and respectful towards others. He was known for his persistent smile, distinctive, hearty laugh and infectious sense of humor. He was, as they say, the life of the party, quickly likeable and had a way of making people around him feel comfortable.Don was a man of routine and felt comfortable living life that way. He knew who he was, what he believed and he did not waiver. He was content with his life and how he chose to life it. He was consistently happy and it was typical to hear him singing gospel hymns as he made his morning breakfast. One of his favorites was, “It Will Be Worth it All, When We See Jesus”. That is what he believed and was the reason for his constant contentment and joy in living. Don will be sorely missed by those of us who knew and loved this truly remarkable man.Don is survived by his daughter Linda and husband Steve Engdahl of Oakdale, Minnesota and sons Don and David of El Granada, California; sister Agnes of Leesburg, Florida; 10 grandchildren; Amy Cryer (Tim), David Engdahl, Emily Timm (Cole), Ethan Batstone (Laura), Andrew Batstone (Tania), Graham Batstone, Jade Batstone, Zak Batstone, Jesse Batstone, and Caelin Batstone; and five great-grandchildren; Carson, Grace and Henry Cryer, and Sadie and Jake Batstone, and many treasured brother and sister-in laws, nieces, nephews and extended family members.A Memorial Service honoring Don’s life will be held on Saturday, March 15th, 2019 at 3:00 pm at Skylawn Memorial Park, Highway 92 and Skyline Boulevard, San Mateo, California. If you so choose, memorial donations may be made in Don’s honor to the nonprofit, Not For Sale, the anti-human trafficking organization founded 12 years ago by their son, David. Don was committed to Not For Sale’s mission “to create a world where no one is for sale”. Please make checks payable to Not for Sale.
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