Obituaries

Donald Blair Hatfield

Photo of Donald Blair Hatfield Photo of Donald Blair Hatfield
DONALD BLAIR HATFIELD, of Little Rock, Ark., died at home on March 19, 2017, after a life filled with love, luck, and joy. Born in Fort Smith, Ark., July 20, 1941, to Homer Don (H.D.) and Miriam (Bartleson) Hatfield, Don graduated from Fort Smith High School in 1959, and Arkansas Tech in 1963. After college he served in the Army in Europe and then in Vietnam, and was awarded a Bronze Star. He had a long and rewarding career in information technology (which he always assured everyone was a result of luck and fortunate timing, and not of any technical skill), started to retire in 1995 and finally succeeded after three attempts in about 2010, after having done business in "between 40 and 50" countries. Don served for almost 20 years as Advisory Board Chair for Youth Opportunities Unlimited, a program giving at-risk Arkansas youth a boost in academic achievement and a much-increased opportunity for high school graduation and college attendance. He was a Charter Member and past President of the Arkansas Academy of Computing, which has played an active role in enhancing computing education in the state and has funded hundreds of college scholarships in the field. He was an active Advisory Board member for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)'s Psychiatric Research Institute (PRI), and for the College of Engineering and Information Technology at UALR. He is survived by his beloved wife Marilyn (née Weiser), with whom he shared romance and adventures on six continents (sorry, Antarctica) and an enduring love; a son, Andrew, and two granddaughters, Ellaina and Blair, all of Conway; two sisters, Vicky Kiehl (Bill) of Russellville and Robin Rylander (Nick) of Tulsa; a nephew Bill Kiehl (Holly) of Erie, Colo., and their three children; and many, many friends and relatives. He was preceded in death by a son, Peter (Pete) Aaron Clay Hatfield. The family has many people to thank, but first among them is the phenomenal staff at UAMS. Wonderful is far too weak a word. Thank you… Memorials: A message to Don's friends – Don has asked that no memorial services be held. Instead, he is asking us to dig a little deeper than usual and help him do some good on his way out. Before his death, Don began work on an endowment initiative at the Psychiatric Research Institute of UAMS, with a particular focus on helping veterans and their families. You can help bring this effort to fruition by making a contribution in his memory. Please send your contributions to UAMS Foundation, 4301 W. Markham St., #716, Little Rock, Ark. 72205, or www.giving.uams.edu/give. Also include the notation "In Memory of Donald B. Hatfield." Arrangements by Ruebel Funeral Home, www.ruebelfuneralhome.com From Marilyn, part of a verse from the Scottish poet Robert Burns: "Few hearts like his, with virtue warm'd; Few heads with knowledge so inform'd; If there's another world, he lives in bliss; If there is none, he made the best of this."

Published March 21, 2017

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