Donald Wayne Lusk Sr., 60, of Snowflake passed away peacefully in his home, surrounded by his family on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014, after a short, courageous battle with liver cancer.
Don was born Sept. 21, 1954, in Phoenix to Donald and Phyllis Lusk, the second of five children. He was raised in Maryvale, attended Maryvale High School, began his career in construction and fathered his first two children before leaving the Phoenix area.
In 1980 Don moved his family to Snowflake, where he continued construction work. He started his own unlicensed construction company called D.W. Lusk Concrete Works, but this was just the beginning of a reputation of quality, honesty and integrity. With the growth of his business also came the growth of his family with the addition of three more children.
In 1996 Don became a licensed contractor, a goal he had set out to accomplish many years earlier. He changed the name of his construction company to D.W. Lusk Contracting, a full service general contractor. Don would eventually go on to acquire three more contracting licenses, and diligently worked alongside his three sons to teach them everything he knew to successfully run a business. Through Don’s generosity and commitment to excellence he touched the lives of many.
Don had many passions in his life; his business, the Arizona Cardinals, jamming with friends and family on his guitar, but the greatest of all was his wife Vera, five children, Donald (Shay) Lusk Jr. of Show Low, Dustin (Paul) Mineer of Phoenix, Casey (Billie) Lusk of Taylor, Gary Lusk of Taylor and Julie Lusk of Taylor, 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Survivors include his wife, Vera; three sisters, Linda (John) Willis of Council, Idaho, Karen (Bill) Saunders of Taylor and Pam (Dale) Turley of Snowflake; and his children, grandchildren and great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Phyllis Lusk; and his brother, Michael Lusk.
A celebration of his life will be held at 12 noon on Sunday, Dec. 7, at Our Lady of the Snow Community Center, located at 1655 S. Main St. in Snowflake. All are welcome to attend and share in this celebration of such a wonderful man.
Food will be provided for the celebration. If you would like to help or donate food items, contact Tina Baldwin at (928) 241-0098.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Our Lady of the Snow Community Center would be appreciated.
