Mr. Don Magnuson

work for Estes Park Schools	taught Social Studies in the Junior-Senior & Senior High Schools
years worked	1970-1990
other information	Donald L. Magnuson Donald L. Magnuson, 74, a long-time resident of Estes Park, died Tuesday July 27, 2004, at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins following a lengthy illness. He was born June 7, 1930, in Okanogan, Wash., on the Colville Indian Reservation to Carl and June (Cable) Magnuson. As Carl was a Forest Ranger and then an agent with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the family moved from the Colville Reservation to the Wind River Reservation in Fort Washakie, Wyo. They later relocated to the Rocky Boy Reservation in northern Montana. Don spent some of his childhood living in Fort Collins and attended schools in Estes Park from 1945 to 1947 where he met his bride-to-be, Joan (Jody) Markley.. He returned to Rocky Boy in 1948, where he graduated from high school. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1950 to 1954, spending a tour in Japan and Korea during the Korean War. He and Jody Markley were married in the family home in Estes Park in February 1953. A member of Phi Delta Kappa, he graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 1958, and obtained a master’s degree from UNC in 1961. Don spent thirty-one years teaching high school in the following communities: Rapid City, S.D.; Fowler, Colo.; Keenesburg, Colo.; and Estes Park where he retired in 1990. Early in his teaching career, Don was active in athletics serving as a coach in both football and basketball and took one team to the state playoffs. He also served as athletic director and assistant principal at Weld Central High School in Keenesburg. He was named an Outstanding Teacher of America in 1969-70. During the summers, he spent seventeen years working as a seasonal park ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park. He loved the outdoors and spent much of his life fishing, hiking, climbing, horseback riding, and camping. His parents Carl and June of Estes Park and a brother Grant of Westlake Village, Calif., preceded him in death. He is survived by his wife Jody; son Mark and grandchildren Aaron and Logan of Estes Park; daughter Dee Ann and her husband Leo Arellano and grandchildren Erin and Kaley of Fort Collins. A private, family service will be held in the future. Memorial donations may be made in Don’s memory to the Rocky Mountain National Park Associates, P.O. Box 3100, Estes Park, Colorado 80517. Funds will go toward a project that will benefit Rocky Mountain National Park