Donald W. Day, Sr.

Donald W. Day, Sr., of Cheyenne, Wyoming, passed away quietly in Davis Hospice Center on March 27, 2023. He was 89.
Don was born in Covington, Kentucky on July 13, 1933. His family moved to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania when Don was a child. Don attended the University of Pittsburg where he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1955. After graduation, Don began his ROTC tour of duty with the Air Force and he was posted to Warren Air Force base in Cheyenne. While serving (semi-seriously) as a lieutenant at the base, Don met Cheyenne resident Judith Ann Reed, who was working at the base. Don and Judy married in Cheyenne on June 8, 1957, and celebrated their 65th anniversary last summer.
After his service with the Air Force ended, Don joined the Wyoming Air National Guard, where he served as a captain until 1963. Don also began working as a salesman for Burroughs Equipment Corporation in Greeley, Colorado. Judy’s parents, Don and Helen Reed of Cheyenne, owned a cabin at Keystone in the Snowy Mountain range. Don quickly fell in love with the cabin and the Rocky Mountains. Don and Judy started their family in Greeley and spent many weekends and vacations at the family cabin in Keystone, which Don and Judy still own.
With Burroughs, Don worked his way up the corporate ranks, living for several years in St. Louis, Missouri, followed by a short stay in Littleton, Colorado. Don was then transferred to Detroit, Michigan, where Burroughs had its corporate headquarters. Don and Judy moved their family to a suburb near Detroit, Farmington Hills. Don and Judy became active members in the Farmington Hills Baptist Church, where they made many long-lasting friends.
Burroughs assigned Don the job of developing and training a new international sales force, which allowed Don to travel all around the world, including most of Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa, and South America. Judy was able to join Don on some of his travels, eventually visiting Hong Kong, Europe and Bali, Indonesia. Although occasionally gone for long stretches of time, leaving Judy with four children to manage, Don documented his travels thoroughly, becoming known in the family as an expert in taking picture of double-decker buses, castles, and tulips, which his children were forced to watch in endless slide shows.
Don’s many years in Michigan also led to him becoming a rabid University of Michigan fan after his son Patrick and daughter Robin enrolled at the University of Michigan. Even through his eventual retirement in Cheyenne, Don proudly flew his “M Go Blue” flag every game day. Don and Judy spent many years tailgating at Michigan football games, and he avidly watched Michigan’s near miss of the national championship just this year.
Don left Burroughs in 1985 and joined Digital Equipment Corporation in Boston, Massachusetts. By then, Don and Judy’s family had all grown, so Don and Judy bought a lovely home in Groton, Massachusetts, where they lived until Don’s retirement in 1992. Although the West was always first in Don’s heart, Don and Judy loved the Boston area, enjoying the great seafood, close new friends, and the historic sights.
Don retired from Digital in 1992, and he and Judy returned to Cheyenne to resume visits to the cabin and enjoy their son Patrick’s growing Cheyenne family. Don also decided to invest in a new Cheyenne business venture started by his son, Don, Jr., which became the now famous DayWeather, Inc. Purportedly to protect his investment (but really because he loved sales), Don went to work in retirement for DayWeather where he helped manage sales for the DayWeather network. Don went to work at DayWeather faithfully every day, much to Judy’s relief, until he was 85, at which point he finally decided to stop working and focus on the
Wyoming Cowboys, the Broncos, and the Michigan Wolverines.
During his retirement in Cheyenne, Don was also active in Kiwanis and the First Congregational Church. Don greatly enjoyed serving Frontier Day’s pancake breakfasts and the endless softball games, swim meets and dance recitals of his grandchildren. Don and Judy were also able to resume long weekends and vacations at their Keystone cabin.
Don is survived by his wife, Judy, his sister Linda Wolf of Williamsburg, Virginia, and three children, sons Patrick and Donald Jr., and daughter Robin Holbrook. Don was tragically preceded in death by his son Brian, who lived in Ojai, California. Don is also survived by 12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Davis Hospice Center or charities of choice.
Services will be Saturday, April 22, 2023 at Wiederspahn-Radomsky Chapel.