People
Collection for person entities.
Pages
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- Donald Harry "Don" Enselek
- He was born in Northampton, Massachusetts to Louis H. Enselek and Lillian J. (Rogers) Enselek. US Census records indicate that his father was a self-employed roofer and his mother was a homemaker. The 1950 US Census shows the family living at 245 State Street in Northampton, including Don’s four siblings (two brothers and two sisters). Don attended Northampton High School, where he was involved in band and the Commercial club before graduating in 1964. He then attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He graduated from college in 1967 and received his draft notice 30 days later. When he reported to the recruiter’s office, he was offered a chance to become an officer. At first, he rejected this opportunity, because he did not want to be in the Army longer than at two-year commitment, but was lured into a three-year commitment by the opportunity to attend Flight School and become an Army pilot. He passed the flight school entrance exam and went through basic training in Fort Dix, New Jersey. He was sent to infantry training in Ft. Lewis, Washington by mistake, but after a period of time, a commanding officer helped him to rectify his situation and he was transferred to flight school in Mineral Wells, Texas. During his flight training in Texas, he met Patricia J. “Trish” Kelley, whom he married on June 17, 1970, after his return from Vietnam. He trained as a helicopter pilot. After flight school, he was sent back to Ft. Lewis in March 1969, before being transferred to Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He was assigned to B Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry Unit, the Ruthless Riders, and stationed in the Pleiku central highlands. He undertook many combat missions and brought soldiers into and out of combat. He was an officer and gained command of his own unit. He received a Bronze Star for valor and other commendations. He served for twelve months and then was sent back to the United States in 1970. He returned to Texas, where he and his Trish Kelley married. He worked with an Army division on prototype technology during this time. He later worked in the petrochemical industry, and he and his family lived for a time in Grand Junction, Colorado in this business before they moved back to Texas, where he worked for a plant in Baytown. He and his wife had two daughters and grandchildren. He enjoyed sports and all sorts of outdoor activities, including fishing. He died in Dallas, Texas at the age of seventy-five, during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is buried in the Dallas-Ft. Worth National Cemetery. *Some information comes from the obituary of Donald Enselek on the website of Jeter and Son Funeral Home in Dallas. **Photograph from the 1964 Northampton High School (Massachusetts) yearbook
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- Donald Massey
- A one-time resident of the Gateway area of Mesa County, Colorado.
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- Donald Melvin "Don" Rogers
- He was born to John Wesley Rogers and Anna Rebecca (Bowman) Rogers in Mesa County, Colorado. His parents farmed in Appleton, where they had moved just before 1900. They moved to Fisher, on the Redlands just over the Black Bridge from Orchard Mesa, when Don was not yet six years old. They ranched cattle on the Redlands and on East Creek on Pinon Mesa. Don grew up attending Grand Junction schools and graduated from Grand Junction High School, where he was active in the band, in orchestra, in the Ag Club, and as a cheer leader. He attended the Ross Business College for two years. The 1920 Census shows him living at home with his parents in Orchard Mesa, when he was twenty. Colorado marriage records show that he married Winifred June Stephens on October 18, 1932, but the marriage did not last. He married Vera Mae Hakes in 1935, when he was 26 years old. According to the 1940 US Census, they lived at 221 Teller Avenue in Grand Junction, with Don working as a salesman and truck driver for the Pacific Fruit Produce Company. By 1950 they lived at 2429 Orchard Avenue, with Don self-employed in real estate. He and Vera appear to have later divorced, and she passed away in Westminster in 1978. Don remarried to Evelyn Francis Owens in Salt Lake City on May 11, 1968. Most likely, he is the Don Rogers that Robert Gustafson and Bill Nelson refer to as having a big band orchestra that played locally during the 1930’s. According to William "Bill" Rump, he worked with George Kelley to support his boy’s club in the Redlands, providing a team of horses. *Photograph from the 1928 Grand Junction High School yearbook.