PPRuNe Pop / InFinRetirement (IFR) RIP

[10W]

After an extended illness, retired airline boss and air display pilot, PPRuNe Moderator, and organiser of many excellent PPRuNe Bashes throughout the years, Don Daines has sadly passed away.

Don brought a wealth of experience, organisation, and humour to the site and was particularly keen in helping wannabe pilots get their break in to the industry, be they young or old. He was a key founder and organiser of the PPRuNe Fund, which provided various forms of assistance ranging from ground school packages to full blown assistance with Astraeus cadetships. As the years went by, the Fund depleted and was finally wound up with various aviation based charities receiving benefit from it.

For those who met Don, you will all have your own memories of him and what he meant to you. A deep and warm friendship, a shared passion for aviation, a fatherly figure, someone to bounce ideas off - these are just some of my personal memories of how Don touched my life.

For his wife, Jan, the coming days are going to be very dark and difficult. She can however take comfort from the family and friends who surround her, including those in her 'PPRuNe family' be they real or virtual.

Once funeral arrangements are known, they will be posted on PPRuNe.

RIP Don, you old bugger :ok: You will be sorely missed by many.

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[treadigraph]

RIP Don, I greatly enjoyed our occasional pints together and that wonderful trip to Shuttleworth...!

I shall be raising a glass this evening...

PS 10W, if I'm not mistaken, that is the very Camel that Don used to fly isn't it?

[10W]

Yes, Treadigraph, it's one of the old Leisure Sport ones which Don used to display. Now displayed at Yeovilton.

[BEagle]

Very sorry to learn that Don is no longer with us. His was always a firm but fair hand on the controls of PPRuNe moderation and he was a chap who contributed enormously to the success of the site.

RIP, Don - a glass will be raised, but it will be very difficult indeed for anyone to fill your footsteps; you will be hugely missed by us all.

I hope that you'll soon be having a lot of fun in that celestial crewroom of the great and good of aviation!

[tail wheel]

Good bye Don. You were a truly wonderful and remarkable person and a great friend.

[Tempsford]

A true gent. The last time I saw Don was over a cup of coffee at LGW with his grandson talking about a career in aviation. I too remember the Shuttleworth visit. Sad news, will raise a glass tonight.

[LOMCEVAK]

A larger than life gentleman in every sense of the word. Very happy memories of the Gat Bashes that I spent with Don. RIP and condolences to Jan.

[John Farley]

Hear hear to Lomcevak's post

[G-KEST]

So worry to learn of Don's passing. He was a great moderator for pPrune. We disagreed on a couple of occasions but the outcome was a friendly one.

[10W]

Don's funeral has been arranged for February 18th.

It will be held at 1015 and will take place at:

Randalls Park Crematorium
Leatherhead
Surrey
KT22 0AG

Tel 01372 363181 / 01372 373813

The family have requested family flowers only. If anyone wishes to donate in remembrance of Don, there are several options you may wish to consider.

1. Donate to a charity of your personal choice

2. Donate to a fund which was originally set up to assist Don's widow, Jan, to travel to and from the hospital in which he was staying, but will now be used to help her manage funeral and other costs. This can be found here:

PPRuNe Pop Fundraiser (http://gogetfunding.com/pprune-pop-fundraiser/)

3. Donate to Combat Stress, which is a charity helping service veterans who are experiencing mental health issues because of their service to their country. Don served in the Tank Regiment during his life and had a special place in his heart for servicemen and women. Last year, this was one of the charities chosen to benefit from some funds which were managed by Don and the money made a real difference to people's lives. This particular charity also appealed to Don as they have low administration and management overheads and therefore more of the money donated actually goes to help those it should. The charity can be found here:

Combat Stress (https://www.combatstress.org.uk/support-us/)

Finally, if anyone is coming to the funeral, could you please let me know, either by posting here or by sending a Private Message or by email to [email protected] This is purely to let the family have an idea of the likely numbers attending so they can organise some refreshments afterwards.

If there are any questions, just let me know.

RIP Don

10W

[10W]

John Farley

Don loved spending his time in your company, especially our visit to Tangmere with you last year and the lovely seafood lunch afterwards.

He talked about that trip a lot and also about your friendship.

Thank you for making him and myself feel welcome and for all the great flying tales we shared that day.

10W

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