Donald "Don" Hanlon, 82, met Our Lord on Friday, September 29th at his home in Evans, Georgia, comforted by his family.  Don was born in New Matamoras, Ohio to the late Harold Clinton Hanlon and Kathryn Nancy (Martin) Hanlon.  He married the former LaVonne Rae "Bonnie" Suchocki, a native of Scottdale, Pennsylvania, on June 18, 1961, who was a Junior Hostess at the Lafayette Square USO Club in Washington, DC where he often played cards.  He was devoted to his family of four children: eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Don graduated from the former Midvale High School (Ohio) in 1959 and joined the U.S. Navy that same year.  He served aboard the USS Enterprise during the Cuban Crisis in 1962 and was honorably discharged in June 1963.  He was then employed by the Continental Baking Company (Hostess Cakes) as a driver-salesman for 35 years and retired.  He became a coin dealer and enjoyed many years attending coin shows.  For 40 years he and his wife enjoyed square dancing with the Circulators and the Diamond Wheels square dance clubs in Laurel, Maryland.  Among their square-dancing activities, they danced in the Washington, DC Cherry Blossom parades in April and in the Laurel Main Street Festival parades in May.

The Hanlons moved to Laurel, Maryland in 1965 and became members of the Community United Methodist Church of Maryland City in 1966 where he served as Sunday School teacher for the senior high school students and later became the Sunday School Superintendent. He was also active in the Maryland City Civic Association where he served as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee; coached basketball and football and refereed baseball for the Maryland City Recreation Program.

Don became a Master Mason and was the Worshipful Master of West Gate Lodge in Mt. Rainier, Maryland and  Collington Lodge in Bowie, Maryland; and was Deputy Grand Inspector for the Laurel Wreath Lodge in Laurel, Maryland and the Birmingham Lodge in Beltsville, Maryland.

In 1964 the Hanlons began tent camping with their oldest child, Michael, and continued for 22 years as their family grew and they advanced to a tent-camper and traveled to most of the USA.  Following their family camping years, the couple traveled to each of the countries where their ancestors came from and a few countries in between.  Later vacations were spent visiting many lighthouses in the USA and abroad.

When his health began failing in 2022, the Hanlons moved to Evans, Georgia to be near their daughter, Starr and her family, who would be their care givers. Don is survived by his wife, LaVonne, of 62 years; his daughters: Dawn Hanlon and Starr Hyatt (Victor); his son, Steven Hanlon (Amy Lockwood); his grandchildren: Tamara Geida (Robert); Lindsay and Matthew Wood; Michaela Hanlon-Simmons; Braden Hertz (Kathrine); Sofia Hyatt; Schuyler Hanlon (Willow Berka); Marina Hanlon (Kevin Nash); Xander Hanlon; Emerson and Liam Hanlon; his great-grandchildren: Melani and Gavin Geida; McKenzie Kahl; Emery Nash and Greyson O'Hanlon (due in October); his sister Kay Walton, plus many nieces and nephews and their families mostly in Ohio, and their foreign exchange student, Gianna Bell-Eunice (Donald Eunice) and her children, Sebastian and Fiona Eunice, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Don was preceded in death by his parents in 1994 and 2002, by his son, Michael in 1985, and by his brother (Harold) David Hanlon in 2009. His body will be taken to Scottdale, Pennsylvania for a brief viewing and a graveside service conducted at the Scottdale Cemetery.  He will be buried beside his son, Michael. A Masonic service will be held at the United Methodist Church in Maryland City by members of the Collington Lodge after the burial.

The family appreciates the care given by Regency Southern Hospice and Don's daughter, Dawn Hanlon.

Thank you to our family, friends and neighbors for visits, concerns, and prayers.

Personalized arrangements are under the professional supervision of the Ferguson Funeral Home, 105 Spring Street, Scottdale (www.fergusonfunerals.com).

In lieu of flowers, people can make a donation to Almas Shriners, Washington D.C. Transportation Fund and the link is https://www.almasshriners.org/product/donatetrans/

Love Lasts Forever!