As the latest member of IASSAR, I thought I would introduce myself. I’m Don Christy, presently of Marengo Iowa, was born in Ottumwa and raised in Cedar Rapids. I enlisted in the Marines for three years out of high school, then worked as an assemble welder for P&H Crain, then I worked as a small engine repairman and then spent over 30 years in the environmental industry (water and wastewater). I’m 65 and have been retired for a few years now.

I’ve been married to my wife Lorie for 42 years, Lorie is the head of Repertory Therapy at the Marengo Hospital. Our son Brad just started his 22nd year in the Army and is a writer on the side. Our daughter Megan is a preschool teacher for the North English Iowa school system and teaches dance classes at the school. We have three grandchildren, Byron is Brad’s son and he will be graduating from high school this year and Megan’s girls are Christy Rose, 10 years old, and Mariah is 3 years old.

My hobbies are motorcycling which we’ve been doing for over forty years, and fishing and hunting. I guess my biggest hobby now that I am retired is taking care of the house and such. When I was first retired, it was in the winter and I got bored so I started baking. It wasn’t long before I was the go-to guy for stuff for the hospital bake sales, potluck or Christmas goodies.

The project that I’m presently doing is working with the local VA representative and County Pioneer Cemetery group to get the veteran’s graves documented and replace the broken stones.

When I first started putting together my SAR application, I suppose I was like most people that I knew who my ancestors were. I grew up with knowing them first hand, I listened to the old stories and looked at the family albums. I knew who they were but proving it with certified information was the difficult part of the IASSAR. On both my paternal and maternal sides we can trace my family back before the Revolutionary War and every generation since then has volunteered to serve our country. I hope I can honor my ancestors by being a member of IASSAR and remembering what they sacrificed to have our Freedom today.

~Don Christy

ddchristy1255@yahoo.com