Donald A. Doane; Retired Postal Worker, Veteran

Donald Arthur Doane of Port Hueneme, a retired employee of the U.S. Postal Service and a 17-year resident of Ventura County, died Thursday in a Ventura hospital following a lengthy illness. He was 66.

Doane was born Sept. 19, 1929, in Winthrop, Mass. A year after graduating from high school in 1947, he enlisted in the Navy and circled the world seven times on the Roosevelt during his four years of service.

“Those were some of his happiest days,” said his wife of 39 years, Helen. “He learned so much from the Navy as a young man.”

After finishing his service with the Navy, Doane attended Boston University for 2 1/2 years before deciding to move from Somerville, Mass., to California with his wife.

“We went from the East Coast down to Florida . . . then headed out West and saw all the country,” Helen Doane said.

She said the couple drove down the old U.S. Route 66 for more than a week before arriving in California in June 1958.

“We were pioneers and adventurers,” she said, adding that they also enjoyed frequent visits to wilderness areas, such as Yosemite.

From 1961 to 1976, Doane worked as a clerk at the Studio City post office before a heart attack forced him to retire. He and his family then moved to Ventura County.

Along with his wife, Doane is survived by a daughter, Deborah Doane Kalla, of Port Hueneme, and two sons, Douglas A. Doane and Daniel A. Doane, both of San Francisco.

A private service will be held.

Doane will be interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma, near San Diego. Arrangements are by Guardian Memorial Funeral Directors of Oxnard.