Donald John Fenner

   Husband, Father, Grandfather, Friend: Donald John Fenner, of Edenton, NC died at home, in his sleep, surrounded by his family Tuesday night, June 21, 2016, at 10:00 p.m.

   Don was born in Mexico, NY on March 29, 1927, and was the son of Sherman and Frances Fenner. He had one brother, Alvin Gilmore Fenner and many aunts, uncles, and cousins in and around Oswego County, NY. While attending Mexico High School, Don played on the baseball, basketball, and football teams, (he would have played other sports if they had offered them!). He also played the clarinet in the marching band and acted in several school plays.

   Don entered the Navy in 1945 at the age of 17, went through basic training at the Sampson Naval Training Station and served in San Diego as a hospital corpsman through the end of World War II. After his military service, he enrolled in Sampson College (on the campus of the decommissioned Naval Station) and then transferred to Oswego State Teachers College (now SUNY Oswego) where he completed his degree in education. He later completed graduate study in education at New York University. While at Oswego, he met his future wife, Joan Coe.

   Upon graduation in 1951, Don taught elementary and middle school in the Mexico Academy and Central Schools for several years. He and Joan were married in Richmond, NY in June of 1953 and moved to Long Island in 1954.

   Don worked for Sachem Central Schools for 31 years as a teacher, elementary school principal, and Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and retired in 1985.

   In 1986, Don and Joan moved to Edenton to begin an active and engaged retirement. During this time he was a tour guide for Historic Edenton, acted in several Little Theater productions, worked at the Northeast Regional Airport, and traveled extensively.

   Throughout his life Don had a sense of adventure and the courage to take on new and challenging tasks. He built a small summer cottage in the Catskill Mountains of NY where he and his family enjoyed 21 summers of swimming, hiking, and sailing. He built a wood and fabric kayak in his basement and traveled with his son on a multi-day trip on the Delaware River. He learned to sail, fly airplanes and gliders, and even built his own small light airplane in his retirement and flew the skies of Edenton. He gifted his children with his own hand crafted furniture, much of it made of beautiful cherry wood.

   Perhaps Don will be best remembered for his wonderful sense of humor. Whether through slapstick antics, or quick-witted responses, he always had people around him laughing. His sense of humor lives on in his family and will serve them well in the days ahead.

   In his final days, he expressed his readiness to face the end of his life and was a powerful witness to gracefully letting go when it was time. He will be missed tremendously and his life will be celebrated joyfully.

   Surviving are his wife of 63 years, Joan Coe Fenner; his children, John Fenner, Kathy Heil, and Maureen Faller, their spouses, Claire Fenner, Joe Heil, and Randy Faller; and by his three grandchildren, Colin Fenner, Lauren Faller, and Leanna Faller.

   Funeral services will be held Saturday, June 25th, at 3:00 p.m. in the chapel of Miller Funeral Home & Crematory. The burial will follow in Beaver Hill Cemetery. Friends may join the family Friday from 7 to 8 p.m. in the funeral home.

   In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, online at http://bit.ly/DonFennerforCFCure, (please select North Carolina-Charlotte Chapter), or by mail to, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 4600 Park Road, Suite 100, Charlotte, NC 28209.