1930
Donald
2015
Donald R. Sellers
November 14, 1930 — January 22, 2015
Donald Ralph Sellers was born near Tipton, Kansas on November 14, 1930. He passed away on Thursday, January 22, 2015 at Hilltop Lodge in Beloit, Kansas. He was the son of Fred Thomas and Flossie Marie Lawson Sellers. His family moved to Beloit in 1935. He graduated from Beloit High School in the Class of 1949 and was Class President. He also began flight lessons that year in Beloit.
He joined the U.S. Navy in 1950. He was assigned to the U.S.S. Missouri which engaged in combat operations in Korea. He also served aboard the experimental missile frigate, the USS Mississippi.
After his Navy service, Donald returned to Beloit and worked briefly for his father's truck line. He married Mary Peters in 1954 and this union produced five children. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1956 where he was a weapons guidance maintenance instructor at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver. Also in 1956 he needed to supplement his Air Force pay and took a second full-time job at Combs Aircraft Corporation at Denver's Stapleton Airport. This association began his formal 38 year career in aviation. This included selling aircraft and being a corporate pilot.
He sold over 170 aircraft, mostly Learjets to customers all around the world. He logged over 17,300 flight hours, had 70 Atlantic crossings, 2 Pacific crossings and 2 around the world flights as pilot-in-command. He concluded his career flying for the founder of cable television, Bill Daniels. The Learjet owned by Daniels now hangs in the atrium of Denver International Airport's Concourse C.
Donald's marriage to Mary ended in 1982. In 1987 Donald married Judith Russell, a native of Montreal, Quebec. He retired to a rural property near Dolores, CO in 1994. Judith died in 2003. After a near fatal heart attack in 2008, his children encouraged him to move to a location less challenging to get to in the winter months. He made his final He made his final move to Lyons, KS in 2009.
He is survived by his son Michael Sellers and wife Marianne, daughter Jeanne Marie Sellers all of Aurora, Colorado; daughter Kathleen Mary Reynolds of Lawrence, Kansas as well as 11 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, son Timothy Sellers, daughter Patricia Sellers, and his second wife Judith.
Cremation has taken place and a private memorial service for family and close friends in Denver will be held at a later date.
He joined the U.S. Navy in 1950. He was assigned to the U.S.S. Missouri which engaged in combat operations in Korea. He also served aboard the experimental missile frigate, the USS Mississippi.
After his Navy service, Donald returned to Beloit and worked briefly for his father's truck line. He married Mary Peters in 1954 and this union produced five children. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1956 where he was a weapons guidance maintenance instructor at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver. Also in 1956 he needed to supplement his Air Force pay and took a second full-time job at Combs Aircraft Corporation at Denver's Stapleton Airport. This association began his formal 38 year career in aviation. This included selling aircraft and being a corporate pilot.
He sold over 170 aircraft, mostly Learjets to customers all around the world. He logged over 17,300 flight hours, had 70 Atlantic crossings, 2 Pacific crossings and 2 around the world flights as pilot-in-command. He concluded his career flying for the founder of cable television, Bill Daniels. The Learjet owned by Daniels now hangs in the atrium of Denver International Airport's Concourse C.
Donald's marriage to Mary ended in 1982. In 1987 Donald married Judith Russell, a native of Montreal, Quebec. He retired to a rural property near Dolores, CO in 1994. Judith died in 2003. After a near fatal heart attack in 2008, his children encouraged him to move to a location less challenging to get to in the winter months. He made his final He made his final move to Lyons, KS in 2009.
He is survived by his son Michael Sellers and wife Marianne, daughter Jeanne Marie Sellers all of Aurora, Colorado; daughter Kathleen Mary Reynolds of Lawrence, Kansas as well as 11 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, son Timothy Sellers, daughter Patricia Sellers, and his second wife Judith.
Cremation has taken place and a private memorial service for family and close friends in Denver will be held at a later date.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Donald R. Sellers, please visit our flower store.
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