Mr. Donald Marlen Catton, son of the late Arvil Catton and the late Eudora Catton, was born on May 28, 1934, in Ruthton, Minnesota and died peacefully at home surrounded by family on April 17, 2024.

As a boy, he attended Holy Redeemer Grade School and graduated from the public Marshall High School in Marshall, Minnesota, in 1952, where he excelled at track, football, baseball, ping pong, and badminton. The ROTC helped him through college at St John's University, at Collegeville, Minnesota, where he continued to excel in track, baseball and football. He graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics and served as a lieutenent in the US Army for two years as an Ordnance Officer at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Aberdeen, MD. While serving the military, Don was mentored by Dr. John Dunn, who taught him to program and develop supercomputers.

After serving his country, Don worked for Honeywell for ten years as a member of the Corporate Technical Group in Washington, DC., and then moved his family to Minnesota to work in their Aerospace Group in 1967.

Don worked as an entrepreneur for a few years developing a single business ski snow mobile and then was recruited by Control Data to sell supercomputers.

That brought his family to Springfield, Illinois. In 1981, Don moved to Detroit to sell supercomputers to General Motors. Finally, he went to work with a friend in 1985,and moved to San Diego, California, to help DNA labs and military with supercomputer simulations. He retired to play golf in 2001.

He attributes his successes in life to his beautiful wife of 68 years, Georgia (Lindgren) Catton, who was his high school sweetheart. They married on March 9, 1956 and had six children: Kathi (Greg) Locke, San Diego, CA, Kari Catton, Springfield, IL, Kim (Doug) McDonald, Springfield, IL, Kris (Barb) Catton, Webberville, MI, Kraig Catton, Gardnerville, NV, Kurt (Donna) Catton, fourteen grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. Don is preceded in death by three brothers, Donavon, Ken, Darrell Catton and one sister, Marlene Catton and two surviving brothers, Bob and Dick Catton and youngest sister, JoAnn Edstrom.

Don's life will be cherished by his family for Don has been documented as stating that "my life, very simply, is his family."