Donn Whitacre

Donn Arthur Whitacre

September 28, 1952 - February 14, 2026

Donn was born in the year of the Water Dragon, which is auspicious for calm, visionary intelligence, innovative and fearless leadership, and successful negotiation. Donn would live to fulfill many of these qualities.

Donn was born in 1952, the eldest son of Walt and Donna (Longstreet) Whitacre. The family later grew to include his brothers, Kirk and Chris. He grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana before moving with his family to San Jose, California, where he befriended two giant land tortoises owned by his great aunts. The family later moved to Huntsville, Alabama, where he became involved in scouting with his father and brothers (with much support from his mother). He earned the rank of Eagle Scout and served as Quartermaster in Sea Explorers.

During the Vietnam War, Donn served in the US Air Force as a Jet Engine Mechanic, Staff Sergeant (honorable discharge). He was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina; Frankfurt, Germany; and Dover, Delaware.

He graduated summa cum laude from Auburn University, with a degree in architecture, building construction, and environmental design. While at Auburn, Donn met Joni, his beloved wife and best friend of more than 45 years. They married in 1980. Donn considered marrying Joni the greatest decision of his life, second only to his decision to follow Jesus.

After their wedding, Donn and Joni moved to Atlanta, Georgia and raised three children (Daniel, Stacey, and Jamie). Donn shared his love of God, reading, and nature with his family. His children remember bedtime stories, dinner time, and family vacations, as well as many weekend adventures into the north Georgia mountains for family hikes, camping, and meteor showers. Donn will also be remembered for his singing of Amazing Grace (perfectly off key) as a lullaby.

The family were members of Wieuca Road Baptist Church from 1980-2013, and Donn served as a deacon. More recently, the family attended North Point Community Church and Browns Bridge Church.

Donn worked as an architect for Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, and Stewart (SRSS) for 38 years and six months (1980-2019). He dutifully provided for his growing family despite the drudgery of office work and the daily commute in Atlanta traffic.

In 2008, he relocated to SRSS’s Singapore office and finally got a break from the traffic. This year abroad was cherished as a time of personal and professional growth, family adventure, and new experiences. Many life-long friendships were forged, including those made at SRSS, the Singapore American Club, and International Baptist Church, Singapore.

In 2019, Donn retired from SRSS and began his entrepreneurial pursuit of real estate. He truly enjoyed all aspects of the real estate process including property management and development. He made many friends and business associates and loved to attend conferences for both educational and networking purposes.

Donn enjoyed many things including architectural design, home renovation, contract negotiation, paperwork, sunrise walks on the beach, Arthurian legends, Coca-Cola, chocolate chip cookies, anything else with chocolate, and his family, especially his granddaughter Eden.

Despite his love of sugary treats, Donn was not known for sugar-coating any of his opinions. He thoroughly enjoyed ruffling feathers and stirring the pot. He was stubborn to a fault. He also raised three stubborn children, and family frustrations were many, though always surrounded by love.

Donn was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer 55 days before his passing. You never know how long you have. Live your life to the fullest. Love your family and hold them close. Forgive each other.

The family would like to thank extended family and friends, as well as the nurses and doctors at Piedmont Hospital for their care and compassion during Donn’s transition from this mortal realm. When he passed, he was surrounded by his family who love him immensely.

Donn died knowing that he couldn’t take it with him when he left this world (a major point of contention), and his hope for salvation rested solely in the name of Jesus. Donn’s final message was “I love you all. See you in Heaven. Live and love well. God loves you!”

He is preceded in death by his father (Walt), aunt (Fu), and family pets (Ritz and Bonnie). He leaves behind his beloved wife (Joni), children (Daniel [Colleen], Stacey [Travis], and Jamie), granddaughter (Eden), mother (Donna), brothers (Kirk [Catherine] and Chris), sister-in-law (Ginner [Jack]), nieces (Rachel [Grant, Benjamin, Lyla Kate, Oliver, and Violet], Cici [Chuck, Chloe, and Emmi]), nephew (Jared), and family pets (Clyde, Wilson, Annie, and Finn).

Friends and family are invited to a memorial service for Donn at McDonald Family Funeral Home (150 Sawnee Drive, Cumming, GA 30040) at 3:00 pm on Saturday, March 7, with Joel Mills officiating. The family will receive friends following the service at the funeral home until 5:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Lustgarten Foundation (Pancreatic Cancer Research), the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, Sustainable Liberia, and North Point Ministries.

https://lustgarten.org/
https://pancan.org/
https://sustainableliberia.org/
https://northpointministries.org/