Donald Paul Lodginski "Ski" – March 12, 1931 – October 16, 2019

Donald "Ski" Lodginski passed away at the age of 88, surrounded by his five kids, after a yearlong battle with cancer.  Don was a great husband, dad, Grampa and Great Grampa. With a sense of humor that was treasured by his family, Don was always up for a good laugh.  During his life, Don was a Marine, business owner and skilled electronics technician.  He joined the Marine Corp in 1948 and served for 21 years in communications, some of those years as a Russian Linguist.  His time in the Marines took him to many places around the world including Korea during the Korean Conflict, both the East and West coasts, Adak, Alaska and Japan.  The discipline and patriotism he learned in the Marine Corp never left him, as friends and family will attest.  After retiring from the Marines in 1969, the family moved to Southern California and eventually settled in Poway where Don started his own TV and radio repair business.  Several years later, he sold Poway Sight and Sound and worked for Sears as a repairman for about 8 years until retiring again at age 65.  In his second retirement, he enjoyed various hobbies such as photography, traveling to see his children and going to Las Vegas. He is survived by his 5 children, Donna Ross of Brentwood, CA., Gary Lodginski of Poway, CA., Steve Lodginski of Kingman, AZ., Cathy Hotmar and her husband,  Jeff of Yorktown, VA., Christine Franey and her husband, Dave of San Marcos, CA, 8 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Sam Lodginski, a granddaughter, a brother and two sisters.  A private service will be held for the family at Miramar National Cemetery November 25, 2019, where Don will receive full military honors for his service in the Marine Corps.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to DS Action (Down Syndrome Action) P.O. Box 23453 San Diego, CA 92193 or www.dsaction.com or to the Alzheimer's Association of San Diego ( http://www.alzsd.org/ ) .