Donald Ray Ditch

He only ever kissed two women in his entire life, and was shocked to his root that there was a second one after over sixty years of only ever having one love. So, over a decade after the death of his beloved wife Pat, he swung for the fences with major surgery to try to wrest a bit more time with his new love, his Lady, Ann Braae. But after weeks of heroic effort, using every iota of his wherewithal and substantial will to recover, Don died July 26, 2021, three days after his 82nd birthday.

A birthright Quaker, born in Madison, Kansas to Floyd & Sarah, younger brother of Irwin, his extended family relocated to Southern Oregon when he was a toddler. He grew up in rural Central Point, an idyllic boyhood (his words): a balanced mix of freedom and discipline.

As a Crater High School senior, he and freshman Patty Lee Hurt began a relationship and love that would endure even her death over fifty years later. After graduating, he served in the US Navy as flight engineer on VP-40 P5M Patrol Seaplanes at Sangley NS. He then returned home and married Patt, working as a plywood spreaderman and stock wrestler to support his family. In the following years, they had and raised two much-loved sons, Andrew and Brian. A kind gentle man, Don was also a crucial encourager and father figure to many of Andy and Brian's friends and as a Little League coach of many years in Central Point and Gold Hill: far too many to list here, yet each knows they were important to him individually. He absolutely reveled in the joy of being grandfather to Katrina (and many of her friends), Layf, Michelle, Dredan, Laney, and Araya. Last year his great-granddaughter Izzy Gabriele was born, and though he never got to meet and hold her, he marveled that in pictures she looked right back at him with the eyes of his father, his eyes, his son's eyes, and the eyes of his granddaughter, her mother.

His generous spirit, well threaded with puckish humor, impacted almost everyone that even crossed his path. Known for his spontaneous short chats with total strangers he felt moved to reach out to. But for family and friends, those that shared his daily life, his willingness to help, kindness and wholesome modest conduct were treasured foundation stones in life that could be relied on.
Now, obituary and eulogy here all in one, all who knew him are invited to attend and celebrate his life(and enjoy chocolate chip cookies) on Saturday, August 14, 2021 from 10am - 2 pm at Robert Pfaff park, Central Point, OR. near his childhood home.