Donald William Wardle Jr., 78 of Orange Park, FL passed away Saturday November 15th from complications with his Parkinson’s. He was born to Faye and Donald William Wardle Sr on June 7, 1947 in Uniontown, PA.

After high school he enlisted in the United States Navy and served during the Vietnam War from 1966 through 1970 and went on to serve his country in the Navy Reserves. During his time overseas, he received a letter from a young woman writing on behalf of a church group that reached out to young service members in the war. This is where he and Beverly Templeton first met and over many letters exchanged fell in love. Don was so sure of what they had he sent her a ring thru the mail. When later discharged and arrived in Norfolk, VA Beverly had made it all the way from Missouri to be with him. They married at a small courthouse in Elizabeth City, NC and as they say the rest is history.

After working for many years as a civilian employee at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard as an electrician he became one of the most driven and respected supervisors until taking an early retirement. He went on to work at a local TV station in Portsmouth, VA and stayed with them til retirement.

Sadly, Beverly passed away from Cancer in 2013 and now they both leave behind a son Robert Wardle, 55 and Cindy Vaughn-Wardle, 50 to carry on their memory.

Donald was smart, creative and incredibly resourceful. I knew my dad to wear many hats, devoted father and husband, mechanic, carpenter, electrician, computer geek and DIY plumber. He was my Wikipedia before there was the internet. He had a great sense of humor and loved to joke and tease folks. He was a quiet, sensitive soul who put the needs of those he loved above his own.

He was a hero and quite honestly the best man I’ve ever known.

We will be doing a virtual celebration of life on December 5th at 7:00pm. It will be via a private zoom link that will be shared later.