Donald Seymour

Haines, 1931-2020

Donald C. Seymour, 88, of Haines, died on March 16, 2020, at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Baker City.

A private Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral in Baker City, followed by interment at Haines Cemetery.

Donald Carol Seymour was born on June 7, 1931, at Hillsboro to Sidney Douglas and Marion Miller Crocker Seymour. He attended grade and high schools in Hillsboro. After graduating from Hillsboro High in 1949, he received a full tuition scholarship ($91) to Vanport Extension Center (later Portland State University) in the St. Johns Area of Portland. After two years, he transferred to University of Oregon in Eugene, where he worked his way through with summer jobs in construction and in a gyppo sawmill in Lebanon. At the University of Oregon, he worked in the kitchen of a girls’ dormitory.

He graduated from the U of O in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He went into the Army in November of that year and, after basic training, was sent to a tank company in Germany. He was honorably discharged as a sergeant first class at the completion of his two-year commitment.

Don entered Law School at the University of Oregon in the fall of 1956, where he met Barbara Ann Proebstel, the daughter of Robert and Helen Proebstel of Haines. They were married in Baker at the end of their second year of law school. They were the first married couple to graduate from the University of Oregon Law School.

After graduation and passing the Oregon State Bar, Don clerked on the Oregon Supreme Court for a year, first for Hall Lusk, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate to replace Richard Neuberger, who died in office, and then for Lusk’s replacement, Alfred T. Goodwin.

Don then worked in the Lane County District Attorney’s office for a year and a half, when he and Barbara took over a law practice in Florence. After two and a half years, Don felt the need to specialize and took a position with the Oregon Attorney General in Salem, specializing in taxation. After 10 years there, Don spent seven years in public utilities, and then eight years as an administrative law judge for the Workers Compensation Department, retiring in 1989. He and Barbara moved to Oceanside in 2003, then to Portland in 2016 and lastly to Haines in 2018.

Don and Barbara had three children: Robert Proebstel Seymour, a rancher-CPA and now CFO for Grande Ronde Hospital and Clinics, residing in Haines with his wife, Livia; Dr. John Patrick Seymour, an MD specializing in Occupational Health, residing in Beaverton with his wife, Lisa; and Katherine Seymour Mack, a VP Sales and Marketing for a battery company, residing in Portland with her husband, Derek. The Seymours have six grandchildren: Tim (Kendra), Sarah (Lupe), Daniel, and Anna (Cody), children of Robert and Livia; Tara (Harold), Nicholas (Jasmine) and Matthew, children of John and Lisa; and Mary Helen Mack, child of Katherine and Derek. They have four great-grandchildren: Waverly (Tim and Kendra) Levi and Manuel (Sarah and Lupe), and Addilyn (Tara and Harold).

Don loved bicycle touring with his children and also participated in three “Seattle to Portland” rides, and four “Cycle Oregon” rides, the last Cycle Oregon when he was 68 years old with his then 13-year old grandson, Tim. He was active in both Cub and Boy Scouts, participating in many 50-miler hikes, and rafting trips, and in Judson Little League, where he served as coach for John’s baseball team and spent many hours catching for Katherine. He was past president of the Salem Bridge Club, and was also a Silver Life Master in Bridge, and acted in over 25 plays in Florence, Salem and Albany.

Contributions in Don’s memory can be made to the Make-A-Wish Foundation through Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.

To light a candle in memory of Don, or to leave an online condolence for his family, go to www.grayswestco.com