Donald Duncan

Donald David Duncan passed away just after his 75th birthday. Don is survived by his wife, Sandra Waldrep Duncan, with whom he shared 54 years of University of Alabama football. The two were married two months after his long-time girlfriend introduced them at church in Tuscaloosa his senior year. (The family is unclear of the exact date he broke up with his previous girlfriend.) He is also survived by their two children: his namesake Donald David Duncan II (Not Junior) of Austin, TX and Dr. Deanna Duncan of Signal Mountain, TN, as well as grandsons Preston (12 yrs) and Duncan Cannon (15yrs.) Don was asked recently upon admission to Alexian Healthcare Center what was his greatest pride and joy in life. He did not hesitate. He unabashedly bragged. "My son David is a cloud architect who travels the globe working on open source software; my daughter Deanna is an MD who started Hearth Hospice and has beaten Stage 4 Breast Cancer; my grandsons Duncan and Preston Cannon are wonderful, gorgeous, and clever with bright futures." Don held both of his grandsons all night for the first two years of their lives. They believed he was the real Santa Claus until they started school. Don's volunteer work includes many appearances as Santa Claus and 4 years as Scoutmaster for Red Bank, TN based BSA Troop 78 from 1984 to 1987 and is remembered fondly by those he encouraged. He maintained troop traditions and tirelessly guided many young boys to become leaders, and several of them, including his son, to Eagle Scout. Don retired after a stroke at age 51 after taking no vacations for 11 years as an instructor and software developer for TVA. Early in his career, Don was a mathematician for NASA and responsible for calculating and producing a Lunar ephemeris used for the Gemini and some Apollo missions. He was particularly proud to have achieved fulfilling a request from his leadership at NASA to calculate ad-hoc the angle of release that would produce the maximum impact velocity for a spent fuel stage from the lunar lander in order to produce the optimal seismic readings from the equipment placed on the moon by our nation's astronauts. Don was responsible for fostering a love of computing and mathematics in his children and others. He bootstrapped his son's career by teaching him to build a Sinclair ZX-80 at age 10. He helped his daughter keep her GPA intact by returning to the University of AL many weekends to tutor her in physics. Although he did not understand them, he was truly proud of the two talented professional artists in the family: son-in-law Terry Cannon of Chattanooga, TN and daughter-in-law Renee Nunez of Austin, TX. A workaholic who took great pride in accomplishments, he made it clear he loved each of us and the UA football program unconditionally. Family and Don's close friends will party at Deanna's house Saturday afternoon in place of a traditional funeral. In lieu of flowers, you may contribute to the setting up of a Duncan Memorial Endowed Scholarship by making a check to the University of Alabama which may be mailed to 1023 Balmoral Dr., Signal Mountain, TN 37377. If you are a UT fan and aren't sure what to do, food is the widow's love language.