Obituary of Donald Botimer

Donald "Don" Botimer passed away unexpectedly on February 12th, at Lake Havasu Hospital. Don was born in Binghamton, New York, on March 10, 1936, during a great flood. The family traveled a lot for his father's job with Goodyear. After his father's death in 1939, his mother moved them back to her hometown of Waukegan, Illinois. Don was a 1954 graduate of Waukegan High School. He served in the US Army from 1954-1957. He married Carol Hutchings August 8, 1964 in Grayslake, Illinois and moved to Gurnee, Illinois. He welcomed daughters, Kathryn, Stacie, and Deborah. He drove a truck for 55 years, retiring from his last job at Yellow Freight in 2002, after 19 years. He moved to Lake Havasu City, Arizona in 2003 after retiring. Don enjoyed working outdoors, gardening, raising livestock, and collecting and tinkering with anything mechanical. He loved driving his 1948 Farmall Cub tractor, camping, and enjoying the Colorado River on his pontoon boat. He explored desert trails in his Suzuki Samurai and attended races at Sara Park. He attended the Gurnee Community Church, in Gurnee, Illinois for 32 years and St. Michael's in Lake Havasu City Arizona for 14 years. He was the founding member of the "Retired Old Man People Watching Club". Above all his most favorite times were spent with family and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Earl C. Botimer and Alice M. Twentyman Botimer; brother Allen C. Botimer;in-laws Nick and Shirley Hutchings, and brother-in-law Tom Hutchings. He is survived by his loving wife of 52 years, Carol, daughters; Kathryn Botimer, Stacie (Scott) Miller, Deborah (James) Harrison, grandchildren; Alissa Koop, Samantha Smith, Timothy Miller, Justin Miller, Anastasia Smith, Nicole Harrison, Jacob Harrison,and Jimmy Harrison, sister-in-laws; Doris Botimer, Pam Hutchings, his nieces and nephews;close friends; Dave and Tina Minnoch, Rafael and Maria Espino, and many friends in Illinois and Arizona. Don left a lasting impression on everyone he met. Services will be February 17, 2017 at St. Michaels United Methodist Church at 4:00pm. Services were placed in the care of Lietz-Fraze Funeral Home. Thoughts and condolences can be sent to the Botimer family at lietz-frazefuneralhome.com.