Donald Tetsell

“Twernt Nuthin’.” This was Pop’s common response when thanked for some extended kindness. Donald Allen “Pete” Tetsell, age 85, made a peaceful exit from this earthly life on May 20th, 2015. To us it wasn’t nuthin’. We say “thank you,” Father, for all the amazing experiences, stories, and examples of good, clean, earthy living that you willingly, generously gave. (Unfortunately, “good and clean” didn’t extend to his house keeping. Earthy, yes). From his birth on September 8, 1929 and boyhood in Sterling, Colorado, to his 33.5 year career in the Soil Conservation Service, to the 16 years of volunteering as the Girl’s JV Tennis Coach at Montrose High School, Dad’s ability to mix beautifully the discipline of hard work and the artistry of wit and humor was unrivaled. Oh, to have all the doodles, sketches and drawings he left behind on napkins, placemats, church bulletins (obviously NOT paying attention) and edges of newspapers would have resulted in literally volumes of his wonderful cartoons. One might think his improper use of language at times was due to serious laps in his education or upbringing. Well, it just ain’t true. He earned a B.S. Degree from CSU and graduated with honors. He spoke publically at times on behalf of the SCS and had a mastery of the English language that resulted in serious butt-kicking in Scrabble and Crossword Puzzles. He thoroughly enjoyed words and his mastery of letter writing and story-telling has left us with memory upon memory to pull upon to both entertain and comfort. Arrowhead hunting, rock collecting, gardening, fishing, hunting, and pranking family and co-workers were all favorite past-times. (Where is that rubber dog turd)? And his love of animals, oh my. He was tender, kind, and crazy about all the dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, and chickens he “parented” throughout his life. Purrl was his last four-legged companion and one of his biggest concerns as he recognized his days were getting fewer. Of the two-legged variety Pop had two other kids. I, Kimberly (Tetsell) Fitzgerald, am from his first marriage and Megan (Christian) Dillon came with the second. Together, Meg and I extended the family with my husband, Dan, and Megan’s husband, Marty, along with their two boys Sidney and Mitchell. Dad loved them all. What he didn’t love was funerals and so to honor his wishes we’ll not be having any formal funeral service. However, we will be putting together a time this summer to gather together to celebrate, tell stories, and enjoy remembering Don, Donald, Pete, Pop, Dad, Father. We’d love for you to be there with us. We would ask that instead of flowers that if you would be willing to send copies or originals of any of his cartoon work or sharing your memories and stories of Dad to: Kim Fitzgerald, 1319 L 7/10 Road, Loma, Colorado, 81524, or email to hogwild@webcomet.com . All who choose to correspond will receive the date and location of Pop’s Celebration Gathering