Donald Delzell

Donald Delzell passed away after a short illness on February 7, 2022 at the age of 89 at Bay Pines Veterans Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL. Donald was born October 7th, 1932 to Bruce and Pauline (Hobbs) Delzell in Morning Sun, Iowa. Raised in a Christian household in a small Iowa town, which formed the bedrock of his life’s commitment to family and community as well as his service to church and God. Donald was proud to be a son of Morning Sun. After Donald graduated from Morning Sun High School in 1950 he attended Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois where he met his future wife Constance (Mitzi) Compondu. After graduation with a bachelor’s degree in business he volunteered to be drafted and served two years 1954-56 in the Army Counterintelligence Corps as part of the Army of Occupation in Germany. Upon completion of his Army service Donald and Mitzi were wed on January 26, 1957 and settled in Chicago. Working first for Western Electric he then earned an MBA at the University of Chicago and began a long career in banking and consulting with moves to Birmingham MI, Decatur IL, Timonium MD, Bradenton FL and finally St. Petersburg FL where he had lived since 1984 and retired in 1997. Summers were the time of vacations to visit family and in later years he was bit by the travel bug and enjoyed trips to Europe, Hawaii, and plenty of cruises.  After the passing of his wife due to complications of Alzheimer’s in 2006, Donald continued his full schedule of church,  choir, community activities, committee work, travel, gardening, staying in touch with family and friends, being neighborly, and working on improving his bridge game. Donald enjoyed exercise and walked 2 to 3 miles daily in his neighborhood.   He didn’t seem to know the words “Slow Down”. Donald is survived by his sons Scott of St. Petersburg and Alan (Jackie); grandchildren Jesse, Jastin, Gabriel and Alesandra of Austin TX; sisters Pat (Dave) Gotch of Streator , IL and Debbie (John) Altmire of Apollo, PA. Donald was preceded in death by his wife Mitzi and his parents. A celebration of life is planned for April 29th from 12:30pm-1:30pm  in the atrium at Americana Cove followed by a committal service at Bay Pines National Cemetery in St Petersburg, FL at 2:30 pm. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association  www.alz.org

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