ForeverMissed
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This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Donald D. Treadwell, 74, born on August 19, 1941 and passed away on May 29, 2016.  We will remember him forever.  
 

Please see the "His Life" section for a brief account of Don's remarkable life: Click here.

August 19, 2023
August 19, 2023
Love that photo of you and Ron Noble. Orville would have loved it too. Bless you both. May you meet on a special wave with eternal twinkles in your eyes. 
August 19, 2022
August 19, 2022
Thank you, Don, for being our friend, for coming over the bridge countless times to have breakfast with Orville and me, for being such a wonderful person---steadfast, generous, hard-working, brilliant, and a true friend. Bless you and Happy Birthday.
May 30, 2021
May 30, 2021
Don
I still miss you and your company very much. I'm hanging in there in this COVID world.
Brian
May 29, 2021
May 29, 2021
We think of you all the time! Violet wants you to know that she’s headed to UCLA in the fall! When she got admitted to Cal and UCLA she cried out of happiness but also out of sadness that you weren’t here to celebrate with her!! We miss your thundering support, wit, clarity, and love.
August 22, 2020
August 22, 2020
I really miss our lunches. Oh, the things we would have to talk about now!!
August 22, 2020
August 22, 2020
We miss you, Dad/Grandpa! Wish we still had your voice in our lives. We still have your spirit! Love from Carol, Isaac, Violet, Sonja, and Anneli
August 21, 2020
August 21, 2020
We miss you in our lives...the small boys are growing up and tell us they want to be engineers. You guys would have fun together!
August 19, 2018
August 19, 2018
Happy Birthday Don. I miss you very much. Today we would be both celebrating our birthday. 8/19/2018.
May 30, 2017
May 30, 2017
Don and I used to meet once a month or so to catch up. we usually met for lunch in Sausalito, San Rafael or Novato. I miss Don very much.
May 29, 2017
May 29, 2017
Just sitting here reflecting on my old childhood buddy, Donnie and the loved ones he left behind. He is always with you all in many ways. It was a great time in sleepy , 50's Berkeley. The smell of the dried leaves burning along Benvenue Ave. between Derby and Stewart. Cruising up to the Stadium on a warm Saturday to watch the Golden Bears tromp a visiting loser. I will never forget him or the period in our lives. Love, Dickie Bradshaw
August 27, 2016
August 27, 2016
We initially crossed paths at long distance when Don relinquished a grad student fellowship at Duke the same week that I went into my mentor's office in search of such things! We later worked as "lunar soil mechanics experts" during the Apollo 11 mission performing experiments, at UCB and Marshall Space Flight Center respectively, that summer. We finally met face-to-face in Woodward-Clyde's Oakland laboratory after I finally trekked across to the left coast to work.

My fondest memories with Don involve softball games with the WCC coed team that went undefeated in the structural engineers' league.  We all made appropriate use of the beer in the keg on our sideline, and toppled some of the champions from the more competitive mens league that season... 

The SWOOP experience included a chopper shuttle to the shore that toured all the popular landmarks en route! It was actually the only project we ever collaborated on in our WCC days.

We were close friends in our professional childhoods, but drifted apart some while back. Often threatening to reconnect in recent times, our paths once again failed to cross. I was saddened to learn of his passing.
August 24, 2016
August 24, 2016
I last saw Don when we had lunch together in Concord just before the reunion when the website disclosed how many of us lived near each other in the Bay Area (Another classmate has been across the street from me for 41 years). In fact, unknown at the time, Don and I worked within several blocks of Woodward in downtown San Francisco for a half dozen years.

We found it amusing as he discussed his Shore Patrol days and we traded similar experiences at the same point in time (c. 1960) on opposite sides of the world, as Ted Ward similarly describes below.

As others have stated, Don was always as remarkable in stature as he was in poise and gentle demeanor, his academic and professional accomplishments stunning to learn of.

As we departed, I left Don with a personal anecdote to deliver to Chris & Carol in his drive to pick them up and head to Tucson the next day.

May Don forever live in the palm of His hand – assuming it to be large enough. God Bless.
August 23, 2016
August 23, 2016
I had the pleasure of working with Don for many years at Treadwell & Rollo, and the honor of being his friend ever since. When I first started working at Treadwell & Rollo, there was a rather shocking incident. One day a would-be thief entered our offices, searched an employee’s desk, found a purse, and was attempting to leave the office with it. Don was alerted, and intervened by tackling the would-be thief and holding him on the ground until the police arrived. I realized, as I grew to know Don better, this incident illustrated some of his greatest qualities. Don was loyal to and protective of his friends. He would do anything he could to help someone, no matter the cost to him. He was a quick thinker, and wasted no time taking charge of a situation. Don was also a very brave man - he weathered many a storm with firm resolve. And lastly – Don was a big guy, but he never threw his weight around unless it was absolutely necessary! You are sorely missed, Dr. Don.
August 22, 2016
August 22, 2016
I miss making morning popovers for Don and my dad, Orville Magoon-you are both eternally missed
August 19, 2016
August 19, 2016
Missing you today Don, on what would have been your 75th birthday. Thanks for being my mentor and friend.

Scott
August 19, 2016
August 19, 2016
I miss you birthday or any day. I have no one to tour hazardous waste sites with; no one to walk the breakwaters of the West Coast with; no one to explore Quartzsite, AZ and wonder at how many knives it takes to make people happy with. Thanks for the golf, the beer, the trips to the desert -- one or another -- and thanks for being my friend.
August 19, 2016
August 19, 2016
Happy Birthday Don. I miss you and our annual Birthday celebration!
August 16, 2016
August 16, 2016
I remember a big guy showing up to my senior class at Berkeley High and giving a lecture on bubbles and boxes. I think he was talking about engineering. Little did I know that he would become my mentor, boss, partner and friend.
August 4, 2016
August 4, 2016
Don was my neighbor and good friend for over 20 years. We served together on our HOA Board for a number of years.

Our relationship continued after we both left the Board. We would have lunch roughly once a quarter at his favorite nearby Chinese restaurant, Feng Nian, and discuss the state of the world as we saw it.

I spent a couple of hours with him a few weeks before he left us. He was optimistic as to his prognosis. Unfortunately, he was incorrect and my wife and I lost a good friend and neighbor,
July 13, 2016
July 13, 2016
I have known Don for several decades, becoming acquainted through his association with my good friend and colleague, Orville Magoon and our mutual interest in coastal engineering and management. He was a memorable person: brilliant, witty and companionable.I recall visiting with him at his San Francisco office and later in Oakland and lunching together with him several times.

Thanks for creating this site so that we all can learn more about him.
July 10, 2016
July 10, 2016
I knew Don for over 20 years. He was always kind, generous and gentle. I would stay with Don when I visited the US while I was living in Asia, and I lived with Don for 2 years when I returned from Asia. He was very generous with his hospitality. We would meet most mornings for coffee and discuss the state of the world and recent news, sports and gossip. For many years we would take long walks together along the Sausalito waterfront after coffee. I will always miss him and remember our times together.
July 4, 2016
July 4, 2016
Don was my next door neighbor (thru the wall) at the Willows in Sausalito for five years. We met initially in the parking lot and had an immediate connection because of Don's easy friendly way. I was often out in the parking lot early with my lab, Pete, for a pee when Don was heading out for his morning coffee. Don and Pete had an instant relationship, and Don wud call Pete who ran over to him wagging his tail. We were good pals, a couple of old, single, vets ((USN - USMC) who respected each other's privacy but liked to talk to each other when we could. Fine, friendly, solid gentleman without attitude - the very highest quality. I will miss him.
June 21, 2016
June 21, 2016
This tribute is from a long ago time in the late '40's in Berkeley, where Donnie, Janie, Dickie(that's me still) and Annie, my sister made our own kind of history. We were neighbors on Benvenue Ave and my Mom and "Betty" his Mom were fast friends and the love of all of our lives. We played kickball, football and hide-and-go-seek endlessly in the street and called ourselves "The Benvenue Bearcats" and allowed no trespassers our age to pass! Finding out that Donnie was so nearby his last 20 years bummed me out. He would have been back in our lives, no question. We live in San Rafael and have been in the same house for 43 years. Janie, if you are still one of our block buddies, let us hear from you. Don's death brings a little closure to my Sis and I but not enough. To his daughters we say if their is a memorial gathering, let us know . We will be there to honor a great pal. Richard (Dickie) Bradshaw 111.
June 19, 2016
June 19, 2016
Our professional careers became more and more closely linked as I worked with Don when he was at Dames & Moore, and then Geomatrix, Treadwell Associates and finally Treadwell & Rollo, where he and Frank Rollo, together with the other fine professionals they attracted, created one of the most dynamic professional engineering firms in California. Through the long period we worked together, traveled around the country together, and helped each other through a variety of personal and professional milestones, we became close personal friends as well. I am sorry to not have Don around anymore. We have lost not only an outstanding engineer, but a fine companion. Travel well Don.
June 11, 2016
June 11, 2016
Don was a treasure as a friend and companion, loyal, constant and always thoughtful. He was Orville's closest friend in the Bay Area and would drive regularly over the bridge to join us for breakfast. Don will always be remembered for his humor, wit, brilliance and warmth.
June 7, 2016
June 7, 2016
From Woodward Clyde to Geomatrix to Treadwell & Rollo, I have always admired Don's brilliance, his personality, his love of life and family, and his friendship. Don was there at my wife's bedside (see photo of Don with Carol and Christine) presenting Leo the Lion when our first daughter was born in August 1987. Leo has been a loyal member of our family ever since, and we cherish those special memories of Don in our lives.
June 4, 2016
June 4, 2016
Don had been a regular coffee, lunch and poker buddy for more than a decade. I already miss the interplay with him and our mutual friends about everything from ordinary events to the state of the world and our place in it. No solutions of course but typically a great start to the day.
June 4, 2016
June 4, 2016
I met Don in 1952 and we have been very good friends ever since, We were in each others wedding and we both have three children. Other than my family he is and will always be my closest male friend.
I will post more at a later'
June 3, 2016
June 3, 2016
Don and I have been friends since 1976. I'll miss him very much.

I will post a story.
June 3, 2016
June 3, 2016
Don is irreplaceable as a friend, traveler, and explorer of the unseen side of the places we all live. Oh, the places I've been thanks to my dear friend.

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Recent Tributes
August 19, 2023
August 19, 2023
Love that photo of you and Ron Noble. Orville would have loved it too. Bless you both. May you meet on a special wave with eternal twinkles in your eyes. 
August 19, 2022
August 19, 2022
Thank you, Don, for being our friend, for coming over the bridge countless times to have breakfast with Orville and me, for being such a wonderful person---steadfast, generous, hard-working, brilliant, and a true friend. Bless you and Happy Birthday.
May 30, 2021
May 30, 2021
Don
I still miss you and your company very much. I'm hanging in there in this COVID world.
Brian
Recent stories

Loma Prieta

June 10, 2016
by S Snell

In the early AM of 10/18/1989, Don crossed the Richmond and Golden Gate Bridges in order to get into San Francisco from the East Bay.

He picked up a small group of terrified single mothers - some of whom were in shock - from PG&E at the foot of Market Street where they had been sheltering. None of the mothers knew each other and all worked at different SF-based companies. All lived in the East Bay and had small children at the time. The earthquake had separated them from their children - no BART, no Bay Bridge - the worst case scenario come true.

He drove over the San Mateo Bridge and got each Mother safely home to her children.

He completed his mission of mercy at around 5:00 AM. 


God Bless him and his family. 

Leo the Lion

June 7, 2016

When our first daughter was born on August 21, 1987, Don was there to present Leo the Lion to Christine. We were planning for a Virgo but Christine decided to join the world three weeks early. Carol (Ries) and Don worked together at Woodward Clyde, and I worked with Don from 1982 through his retirement from Treadwell & Rollo. Throughout all that time, Leo "lived" on Christine's bed and to this day, Leo holds a special spot in our home and in our hearts. Thank you Don for bringing so much joy to this world. Phil, Carol, Christine and Kathryn

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