Don Eastman | Aug. 20, 1922–July 26, 2017

Don Eastman

Aug. 20, 1922–July 26, 2017

Dr. Donald C. Eastman, (94) passed away on July 26, 2017 in Hillsboro, Oregon. He was the husband of Priscilla Eastman. They shared 30 years together.

Born in Nampa, Idaho on August 20, 1922, he was the son of Elmer Ivan Eastman and Marie Eleanor Benedict Eastman. He attended Pacific University and University of Washington. He graduated from Pacific Dental College. He served in the Reserve Officer Training Corps for 15 months. He was a dentist and supply officer for the United States Army, stationed in Virginia for 2 years. He discharged in 1948 with the rank of Captain. He opened his dental office in McMinnville, Oregon where he practiced for 40 years.

Serendipity brough Don to the Mazamas. In 1954, while hiking and fishing at Green Lake, Don and Jim Craig met a Mazama group climbing South Sister and Broken Top. Later, when the two arrived home, they made a quick trip to the top of the Pacific Building in downtown Portland where the Mazamas office was located at the time. They spoke to Don Onthank, known as “Mr. Mazama,” and signed up for a Mt. Hood climb with Phyllis Neuberger as leader. During the climb snow conditions were such that they did a sitting glissade down to Silcox Hut. They had become Mazamas!

Don enjoyed leading climbs and derived great pleasure from the detailed planning. He was a cautious leader and instilled trust in those who climbed with him. The people he met climbing, skiing and serving on committees he considered some of his best friends.

Some of the last major climbs Don and Jim made were in 1984. They summited the Gross Glockner, the highest peak in Austria, the Triglav, the highest peak in the former Yugoslavia and Mt. Olympus, the highest peak in Greece.

Don's involvement in the Mazamas was quite prolific. He served on the Budget Committee in 1965 and 1966, the Finance Committee in 1962 and the Long Range Planning Committee from 1965–66. He was on the Climbing Committee in 1959 and again from1967–69, and chaired that committee in 1969. Don served on the Mazama Executive Council from 1962–66 and again in 1975. Don was the Mazamas vice-president in 2962, treasurer in 1963, and president in 1964.

Don earned the Seven Oregon Peaks award in 1957, Sixteen Major NW Peaks award in 1959, 10 Peaks award in 1964, and was the first recipent of the 50 and 100 Peaks awards, in 1965 and 1967 respectively. Don won the 5-point leadership award in 1959, the 10-point 1960, the 15-point in 1961, and was the second person to win the Leuthold Leader Award in 1969. He was also awarded the Parker Cup, often described as the most prestigious Mazama award, for his service to the Mazamas.
Don’s love of the natural world and sharing that love with others continued after he stopped climbing mountains. He began his second professional career as a photographer after retiring from his dental practice.

After 50 years with the Mazamas, Don joined the ranks of Mazama Life Members in 2004. We were lucky enough to have Don visit the Mazama Mountaineering Center on June 23, 2014 at the age of 91, with his wife Priscilla, and Bill Mosser (Priscilla's son). They dropped in to check out the Don Eastman display case (see right). Don seemed to enjoy seeing the collection of some of his old climbing items as well as pictures of his time with the Mazamas.

He was a member of First Baptist Church in McMinnville, Oregon and Village Baptist in Beaverton, Oregon. He was a past president of the Mazama Mountaineering Club, as well as a member of Kiwanis Club, The Native Plant Society of Oregon, American Dental Association, The Nature Conservancy, the Oregon Natural Resources Council, and was for many years a member of the American Alpine Club, the Iowa Mountaineers, and the Swiss Alpine Club in Zermatt, Switzerland. He was the author of Rare and Endangered Plants of Oregon.

He is survived by his wife, Priscilla Eastman; daughter and son-in-law, Kim and Steven Henson; grandchildren, Melissa Henson and Matthew Henson. He was predeceased by his first wife Sibyl Hauser Eastman, parents, and sister Lorraine Burson.

The memorial service will be held on August 26, 2017 at 1:00pm at the First Baptist Church in McMinnville (125 SE Cowls St). Memorial donations may be made to the Native Plant Society in care of Macy and Son Funeral Home.

• We published a feature article titled We Were Mazamas: A Profile of Don Eastman, penned by Bill Mosser, in the June 2014 Mazama Bulletin. You can read the article on our blog at tinyurl.com/MazDonEastman