Donald Edward Widen was born in Cleveland Ohio on December 18, 1930.  He was a curious, hardworking, and restless kid who was intrigued by art and those who created it.  As a young man, Don moved to Los Angeles, where he found another calling:  national service.  The Korean War knocked on his door and he accepted the challenge to become a Naval Aviator.  He served with distinction and participated in covert operations by courageously flying unmarked aircraft at night in the Pacific.  Don also relished harrowing adventures in which he tracked typhoons so brutal that a full eight inches of water would pour out when he opened the plane's hatch at the mission's end.

However, Don's greatest mission occurred when he rushed to aid a young woman, who had passed out on a tennis court in Los Angeles.  Don asked if she was okay.  Her eyes still closed, the woman thought, "What a lovely voice!"  Her name was Mary Deason.  The rescue turned into courtship and they would meet for dinner in Laguna Beach, which was halfway between Mary's home in Los Angeles and Don's Navy base in San Diego.  After the courtship blossomed into a marriage, Don and Mary eventually made Laguna their home, where they raised their five children:  Gregory, Maryanne, Lisa Marie, Julianne, and Kathleen.

When Don climbed down from his aircraft and completed his service in the Navy, he returned to his love of art.  He earned a master's degree at Pomona College and then became a painter, sculptor, and popular art professor at Fullerton College for over 30 years.

Don was very involved at St. Catherine of Siena Parish.  He regularly read at Mass and participated in the parish events, including Marriage Encounter, now lovingly known as the "Love Circle," where Don and Mary made their closest friends.  When he retired, Don also designed the template for the church's bronze baptistry doors that depicted scenes from the story of St. Catherine.  It is rumored, but has never been proven, that Don cast himself as one of the figures in the story.

Don was a Renaissance man.  He was equally at home on the deck of a sailboat, soaring in a glider, or relaxing on a patio in Tuscany while musing about Roman encaustic frescos.  He also was built like a boxer who loved wearing short sleeve sweatshirts while driving a pickup truck or single handedly building additions to the family's home.  Most importantly, Don created memorable family experiences for Mary and their five children.  Don taught the children how to sail on Sabots and then, manning a much larger sailboat, the family sailed on their own to Catalina.  He and Mary also tightly packed all five children into a station wagon and frequently drove to Lake Tahoe.  On these adventures, they patiently and lovingly taught their children how to ski, camp, hike, and deliver obscure one liners involving renaissance painters.

Don had time for everyone and was loved in return by all who knew him.  Until her death in 2015, Mary was his adoring wife for 57 years.  Don is survived by five children, Gregory Widen (Adara), Maryanne Holmes (Scott), Lisa Marie Viggiano (Ron), Julianne Godfrey (Gary), and Kathleen Kaiser (Rick); and nine grandchildren, Nina Layus (Dan), Christopher Viggiano, Alexandra Pahl (Hunter), Damian Holmes, Devin Shultz (Ragan), Danica Shultz, Elizabeth Kaiser, Katherine Kaiser, and Stellan Widen; and seven great-grandchildren, Elloise Layus, Townsend Layus, Mary Layus, Prudence Layus, Beau Pahl, Tucker Pahl, and Sadie Anne Pahl.

Don was a lucky man who truly lived by his motto: "The only real emotion in life is empathy".  When Don passed away at 92, he did so as he had lived:  peacefully, surrounded by family, with nothing left unsaid.