Donald Joseph Dominic Refka
Marriages
Chuckie
Obituaries
Steamboat Today - March 1, 2009
Donald Joseph Dominic Refka passed away Feb. 24, 2009. He was 71.
Don was born Dec. 7, 1937. Don left us a legacy of family love and our responsibility to teach, support and cherish each other. We feel so blessed.
Don taught his seven children - Laura, Linda, Cindy, Sandra, Steven, Brad and Dawn - by example. He always was fair and non-judgmental. He never was greedy and enjoyed the simple things in life. He taught us to forgive readily and to accept others' limitations and embrace their strengths. He was a hard worker and an excellent craftsman. He built the house we grew up in, though his profession was as a power engineer. He spent his entire career working for AT&T. He started working for the company as a draftsman when he still was in high school in Chicago, where he was born and raised. His parents, Ben and Edna Refka, sister, Jean, and brother, Al, were sorry to see all of us move to Colorado in 1964, when Don was offered a transfer. But they knew it would be a better place to raise his children with the love of his life, Chuckie, to whom he was married for almost 50 years. They introduced us to the amazing beauty of the mountains, where we have all found peace and happiness. We were taught the necessity of being stewards of the land and water.
Don was a servant of the Lord all his life. At the end, he was able to stay home in hospice care. He still was teaching us valuable lessons, even as he was dying.
We greatly respect and admire him and will love him for all eternity.
