Donald L. Cammack

Donald was born July 17, 1919, in Karinen, Harding County, South Dakota, the son of Harry Lewis Cammack and Mary Ellen Dake Cammack. He had one sister, Marjorie, two brothers, Richard and Vernon, all who preceded him in death.

Donald moved with his family to Stevens Point, Wisconsin when he was very young. He attended school in Stevens Point, except for one year, which he spent in Bowman, North Dakota. He graduated from Stevens Point High School in 1936.

Don moved back to the Harding County, South Dakota area after graduation where he lived with his aunt and uncle, John and Katherine Booth on their ranch south of Buffalo. He later was hired by Mr. G. G. Glendenning as a Linotype operator in the Buffalo Times-Herald in Buffalo. He worked there learning the trade until he bought the newspaper in 1945. He later sold the Times-Herald and moved to Arco, Idaho in 1971.

Donald was united in marriage to LeElla Alice Russell on February 6, 1940 in Buffalo, South Dakota. He and LeElla started their life together in a one room house, which Don called a shack, in Buffalo. They later moved the little house to the north edge of Buffalo and there they started their family. To this union were born nine children. As the family grew, so did the house. The family consisted of Ellen, Donna, Katherine, Charles, Margie, Donald Paul, Thomas, Geri and Nina.

Donald was preceded in death by his parents and siblings and his wife LeElla, and a granddaughter, Jodi Lynne LaRose. He is survived by his children: Ellen Sheeler, Vale, South Dakota; Donna Murray, Arco; Katherine Wickham (L. W. “Sonny”), Bartlesville, Oklahoma; Charles Cammack (Joy Dell), Arco; Margie Elwood, Cornish, Utah; Donald Paul Cammack (Vonda), Moriarty, New Mexico; Thomas Cammack (Tina), Arco; Geri Cammack, Arco; and Nina Crane (Matt), Caldwell, Idaho. He is also survived by 19 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren. Also surviving him is his double cousin, Eunice Fox, of Buffalo, South Dakota. She is the last of the Cammack/Dake families.

Services will be held on Saturday, February 2, at Butte Middle School Auditorium in Arco, with burial to follow in the Hillcrest Cemetery in Arco. There will be a Rosary and prayer service at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by viewing at the Anderson Family Funeral Home.

Donald will be remembered as a tireless community supporter, no matter where he lived. He had been a member of the Rotary Club, Lions Club (Charter Member), Knights of Columbus and Chamber of Commerce. He was a pioneering proponent of oil production in the Harding County, South Dakota oil field, and had a sizeable string of uranium claims in the same area. He was a respected editorialist in South Dakota politics, and served as a ghost writer for more than one South Dakota politician. Many of his editorials were published in the Congressional Record. Don also wrote numerous articles for the South Dakota state tourism commission. He was an inveterate rockhound, almost never returning home without several rocks, and not always small ones.

He was also a great storyteller, and although some of his stories, like fine wine, grew better with age, so did the teller, and both were very enjoyable.

He will be missed.

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