Donald William Lea

Donald William Lea passed away on June 28, 2022, in Hammond, Louisiana.

He was born to Albert Loren Lea and Hattie Williams Lea in Bozeman, Montana, on June 11, 1927.

Don's mother passed away when he was 9 years old. Don and his father lived in Bozeman until Don enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1944. Don saw action in the Western Pacific.

Upon Release from the Navy in 1946, Don returned to Bozeman and took flying lessons at Gallatin Field, earning commercial and flight instructor ratings.

In 1948, Don enlisted in the U.S. Air Force serving on Guam.

In 1950, after returning to the U.S., Don attended Weather Forecaster School. After graduating in 1952, he was sent to Europe where he spent most of the remainder of his Air Force career, serving three tours in England and one in Munich, Germany, where his son Mike was born in 1956.

Upon retirement from the Air Force in 1967 in Omaha, Nebraska, he completed post-graduate studies at the University of Nebraska.

In 1968, he accepted a position as a geography professor at Southeastern Louisiana University. Retiring due to ill health in 1986, he remained in Hammond, Louisiana, until his death.

An avid pilot, by the time of his retirement he had accumulated some 3,600 hours of flight time.

Don was preceded in death by his parents; his son Mike; and sister Marilyn Lea Osborne of Helena, Montana.

He is survived by his grandson Robert in Bossier City, Louisiana, three nephews, and one niece.

Services with full military honors will be held at Sunset Hills Cemetery, Bozeman, Montana, at a later date.

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