May 2024

Don Alexander, age 88, of Marina, California and formerly of Olympia Fields, Illinois, was a long-time summer resident of the Gunflint Trail. Don was born on July 24, 1935, to Carl and Martha Alexander in Rockford, Illinois, and passed away on April 12, 2024 in California. He graduated from Rockford East High School in 1953 and from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, with a major in Sociology, in 1958. As captain of the swim team, he set many Augustana and College Conference of Illinois freestyle records during his collegiate years. Don was inducted into the Augustana Sports Hall of Fame in 1981 as one of nine members representing all sports during the decade of the 50's. He met his wife Virginia (Ginger) at Augustana. They were married on August 7, 1960, at Zion Lutheran Church in Lockport, Illinois. Don received an M.Ed. from the University of Illinois in 1961 and an M.S. in Sociology from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1968. Don was the recipient of several National Science Foundation grants, spending summers at the University of California Berkeley, University of Colorado Boulder, and Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, as well as an Academic Year Institute in Sociology at Illinois Institute of Technology. He taught for seven years at Bloom High School and for twenty-eight years in the Sociology Department at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights. He coached swimming and tennis at Bloom High School, and upon retirement coached both boys' and girls' tennis at Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields. Don was an enthusiastic tennis player and played with many groups through the years. Don served in the military beginning in 1958 with six months of basic training while stationed at Fort Ord, California. This was followed by five years in the U.S. Army Reserve. Don was a longtime member of Faith Lutheran Church in Homewood, Illinois, serving on the church council and chairing the Social Ministry Committee for 13 years. Don's love of fishing

Don Alexander, 88, of Marina, California and formerly of Olympia Fields, Illinois, was a long time summer resident of the Gunflint Trail. Don was born on July 24, 1935, to…