Donald Brilz

Donald was born July 9, 1937, at Mandan, to Anton and Bertha (Schwartz) Brilz. He was raised and educated in Fallon, outside of Flasher. Grew up on a farm and loved the animals. He served as an altar boy at church. In 1955, he joined the Air Force, stationed in Shaw and Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. He was trusted with classified information and served his country honorably. He met Margaret in St. Paul, MN, and they married in May of 1962. Their first child, Curtis, was born that same year. The next year, they moved to California and, later, they were blessed with a daughter, Janet. With their family complete, Donald worked as a city bus driver for AC Transit in the San Francisco Bay Area for fourteen years. Their family resided in Livermore where he met his best friend Jack Palmer, an army vet and Hayward police officer of distinction. Their favorite thing to do was sit on the porch, play cribbage, and have a beer together. In 1975, Donald and Margaret built a house in Danville, CA. In 1977, they returned to the Bismarck-Mandan area, where Donald worked as a carpenter, and then became a long-haul truck driver and owned cattle. A man of many talents, he worked at Walmart until his retirement in 2012. He and his wife spent his last years doing whatever they "darn-well" pleased.

Donald was an elaborate story-teller, happy to entertain with his stories of growing up on the farm. Always happy to make people laugh with stories of nailing a whole 5-gallon's worth of nails into the dirt with his brothers, teasing his sisters, and crazy stories of riding his horse, Pink--and attempting to ride calves with his brothers. He and his wife loved making chokecherry-blueberry preserves, cooking chicken-noodle soup, and baking peanut-butter cookies. He was very hospitable. You couldn't show up without getting fed or a good drink--whether you wanted it or not! He and his wife loved going on long drives. He loved to work alongside Margaret and be useful. Donald was a "perfect gentleman" as Margaret has been told by every woman he ever met!

He is survived by his wife; his son Curtis; his daughter Janet (Bob) Gwyther; his grand-children Jordan, Joshua (Laycee), and Waylon; two great-grandchildren, Phoenix and Cambria; his brothers Johnny, Kenny; his sister Lois; and his close friend and neighbor Richard and Trish Bahm and their family.

Donald was preceded in death by his parents; his brother Ray; his sister Lillian; and his best friend Jack Palmer.