Don was predeceased by his wife, Daphne two years ago, along with his parents and his older brother, Jack and his twin, Ray.

He is survived by a son, Donald Brian, a daughter, Catherine Mary, a granddaughter, Elizabeth, his beloved nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, and countless extended family members and friends from all over the world.

Don was born in Newark, NJ, on May 8, 1935, to John and Rose Kress. He had an older brother, Jack and his twin, Ray. The three boys enjoyed sports, fishing, and the Kent School where Jack graduated in 1952 and Don and Ray graduated in 1954.

While at Kent Don was on the varsity football and hockey teams, rowed with the crew team, and sang with the Glee Club, the Chapel Choir and Decet. The yearbook reported that "His interest in the school and his hard work in all his endeavors captured for him the important job as Kitchen Head." He later told friends that he stayed out of trouble because he could always claim it was Ray that had been seen. But it must have been more than that for at Commencement Don and Ray won the Columbia Cup, an award for the senior boy "who has shown the most comprehensive grasp of his life and work at Kent." After Kent, Don was involved with fundraising for Kent's chapel renovation and a Campaign Team Member. He was a member of the K-E-Y Society, the Bell Tower Society and a Reunion Committee Member. 

Don graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, PA in 1958 and received an MBA in 1960 from New York University. He was proud to be a member of the U.S. Army.

Don married Daphne Woods in April 1999 and as active members of the church their wedding was held during the 10am Sunday principal service, a first for this church. Don, like Daphne, was very involved in the church - an important part of their life for many years. He became a prime mover in St. Mark’s’ financial affairs, co-chairing the fundraising effort of its 150th Anniversary celebration in 2000 and the subsequent construction of a new Heritage Hall. For all his years there he was an enthusiastic chorister. Don loved to sing and was up in the stalls every Sunday; even after moving to Tennessee, if he was in town he would don his robes and join the choir for Sunday service.

He always found a church where he belonged. After leaving New Jersey Don and Daphne joined St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Farragut, Tennessee and then St. Mark’s in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. At each of the churches, he sang in the choir. He dabbled in singing, theater and performances at the churches and in the community including the Tellico Community Players in Tennessee.

Over his more than five-decade professional career, Don held senior positions at Goodbody & Co.; Dillon, Read & Co.; Putnam, Coffin & Burr; and Lynch, Jones & Ryan where he joined Stan Chamberlin, a Lafayette friend who was also in the class of 1958. Don provided the Institutional Brokers Estimate System (I/B/E/S) to investment clients across the United States and then developed a third-party investment research marketing service. He also worked at Midwood Securities as the Vice President of Institutional Sales and Marketing. Later, he founded InSearch, his own broker-dealer and independent research firm.

For the last 15 years Don has served as one of the three members of the Distinguished Service Chapter Committee, an appointment earned only by the very few who, during many consecutive decades of beyond-the-call of service to the Fraternity, more than distinguished themselves as leaders, loyal and trusted fraternal brothers, and gentlemen.

Don was both a professional icon, accomplished in his chosen field and sought after for his financial expertise, and a man who could immediately connect with young Delts in a way that was unassuming, and authentic. He could seamlessly transition from helping the Fraternity plan its new Foundation, or adjust its investment strategy, to helping a young undergraduate president figure out a thorny problem back at his chapter.

Often, Don would step away from a session to take an important call from a client, or equally likely, to huddle with a Delt or a small group of Delts, giving counsel on anything from matters affecting the fraternity, to personal questions, to career counseling. He helped many Delts throughout the years in each of these areas.

Don’s profound belief in the importance of being present prompted a Sunday evening trip from central New Jersey to Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania to meet with the undergraduate chapter. He attended the entire chapter meeting, asked questions, listened closely, shared his experiences, and told the men how proud he was of them and the chapter. He then departed for Connecticut. This was April 2019 and at 83 years of age, Don's last in-person Delt meeting. A fitting capstone to his lifelong belief in the value of fraternity.