Donald Jack Stockton

Donald Stockton was born in Detroit, MI, to William Edward and Grace Mae Stockton in April of 1943. As a young boy, Donald developed a strong work ethic, assisting his parents with their family-run bowling alley. His father, William, was a hobby musician who enjoyed playing pop songs of the day on a C-melody saxophone with a small band of friends. This sense of musicality was passed directly along to Donald, who picked up the ukulele as a young boy and later the guitar in his teenage years. Throughout his teenage years, he worked hard and saved up enough money to buy himself his own Thunderbird.  After high school, he enrolled in a technical school, where he excelled in the field of electronics. Upon completion of the course, he enlisted in the armed forces. His first choice was the Navy but he was turned away due to his poor eye-sight so instead, he joined the U.S. Air Force where he continued his studies in the electronics field and became an incredibly capable air-plane electronics technician. After four years, he was honorably discharged as a buck sergeant. For the following decade, Don enjoyed frequent calls from fellow Air Force technicians in need of his consultation and technological insight.  In 1968 he joined forces with the fledgling public television station, Channel 62 in Detroit, where he began his television production career and became a central figure in the development of that channel.  That same year he married his true love, Patricia Ann Kaniuga. They had a rather unique honeymoon experience, staying at the Ponchatrain Hotel in downtown Detroit in the midst of what proved to be a very turbulent time. They viewed the Detroit riots of 1968 from their honeymoon suite.  In 1972, he began working in Dearborn for Henry Ford II as his personal photographer.  In 1974 he began work for another public television station, NET in Ann Arbor, MI.  In 1977, he and his wife Patricia saw the birth of their only child, Geoffrey Michael Stockton.  He worked for NET until 1978 when he moved his family to Traverse City, MI and worked as a chief engineer for Channel 7.  A few short years later the channel closed down and in 1981, he was employed by Producers Color in Southfield, MI, as a chief engineer.  In 1987, he took on the same role at Mobile Images, another metro Detroit based TV production firm.  From 1989 to 1993 he worked for Filmcraft Video.  From 1993 until 2002, he worked for Palladium Productions in Southfield, MI.  After that, he spent a few more years doing freelance video production for sporting events, concerts and industrial events, something that he had always done, and in 2006, he made the decision to retire.  He is remembered by his colleagues as a true innovator and rock solid co-worker who was always there when he was needed.  Over the years, Don had many hobbies, being quite adept as a sailor, a guitar player and an amateur radio operator.  In the early 1990’s he was elected president of the Hazel Park Amateur Radio Club, where he served for a couple years, before work got in the way of his club-house obligations.  He spent many years writing for Lakeland Boating and Great Lakes Cruiser magazines.  This allowed him an opportunity to do some free traveling with his family.  Don was always most at home when surrounded by good people, good food and drink and good music, telling jokes and talking about technology and politics.  He was a man who had plenty of friends who held political beliefs that opposed his own.  These differences never kept him from these friendships.  He was far more interested in what people had in common with one another rather than how people contrasted each other.  The things most important to him were, honesty, humility, family and friends.  Don Stockton lived a full life and achieved more than a lot of people ever manage to achieve.  He will be missed by all who knew him and lived/worked closely to him. Don had received Jesus as his lord and saviour. He is survived by his wife, Patricia, his son Geoff, his daughter in-law Sheri, his three grandsons, Julian, Gavin and Parker, his brother Bill as well as several nephews and one niece.