Don Paquette

After a long, brave battle with cancer, Don Paquette of Martinsville, Indiana, and formerly of Bloomington, Indiana, passed away peacefully in his sleep at home. So many people knew and loved Don for his myriad of accomplishments and roles in his life: a faithful life partner, a father and grandfather who always enjoyed sharing experiences instead of things, a brother sailor on a nuclear submarine, a project engineer with stern focus at Otis Elevator, a stinky hiker the Appalachian trail, a good neighbor and emu wrestler, a joyous private pilot or scuba diver or caver. He helped to develop the National Cave Rescue Commission for the NSS and was active in cave rescue his entire life. He was my domestic partner for 42 years and sent me roses every Valentine’s Day. The Easter Bunny always showed up even when we hiked the AT. He could fix anything around our house or on our vehicles. He also did a lot of woodworking and made many of the pieces in our home: He was especially proud of the full-sized Blackjack table he fashioned and would deal many hands for our friends and family at parties. Even though Don and I met in a cave and we caved, hiked, camped, and canoed together, we also went on lots of cruises and enjoyed all types of music. Don loved Willie Nelson, Beethoven, his children, his friends, and me. Don touched many lives; he graduated from Bloomington High School in 1965 and from the U.S. Navy Nuclear Power School in 1969, serving in the U.S. Navy from 1966 until 1973. He received his Bachelor of General Studies from Indiana University in 1984 and his Master of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University in 1991. Don worked as the senior facilities engineer for Otis Elevator from 1973 until 1995, as a teacher for Ivy Tech Community College for ten years part-time and for two years full-time, and for Applied Performance Strategies from 1999 until 2019. He was a life member and fellow of the National Speleological Society and National Cave Rescue Coordinator from 1984-1993. He was also an amateur radio operator, WB9TLI. He is survived by his life partner, Jo Ellen (O’Hair) Kimmel; daughter, Kerri Lynn (Rich Maynard) Jean; son, Christopher Blair (Kimberly) Paquette; grandchildren, Kelsey Lynn (Mitchell) Oard, Cayden Christopher Paquette, Kale Emerson Paquette, and Claire Addison Paquette; great grandchildren, Knox and Nora Oard; stepson, Alex Robert (April Adkins) Kimmel; step grandchildren, Aquene Rose (Rachel) Payne and Joel Andrew Kimmel; and his first wife and the mother of his children, Vicky (Stipp) VanMeter. Don was preceded in death by his parents, Donald J. Paquette and Minnie L. (Young) Paquette, and his son in-law, Jeffrey Michael Jean. Military honor rites for Don will be held at 5:00p.m. on Friday, June 13, 2025, at Allen Funeral Home and Crematory in Bloomington. Visitation for family and friends will be held at the funeral home on Friday from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.. Memorial donations in honor of Don may be made to the National Speleological Society (NSS) for the National Cave Rescue Commission’s Education Endowment Fund (6001 Pulaski Pike Huntsville, AL 35810 or caves.org) or to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (799 Washington St., PO Box 807 Harpers Ferry WV 25425 or appalachiantrail.org).

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Don Paquette

May 29, 1947 - June 9, 2025