Beloved husband, son, brother, stepfather, uncle, Grandpa Don, and friend to many, Donald Bruce Passavanti passed away peacefully on September 27, 2022, in Jacksonville, Florida. Don was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1948. His father, Anthony, was in the military and moved the family from Greenbelt MD to Virginia Beach VA, where Don spent much of his free time fishing, crabbing, and trapping muskrat in the tidewaters that surrounded his home.

In 1962, the family moved to Jacksonville, Florida. Don loved exploring the rural areas, and many summer days he was gone from morning to dinnertime. His first job was working at a vegetable stand unloading watermelons. He attended Forrest Senior High School and was in various clubs. Don then went on to FCCJ and was the sports editor of the newspaper. It was during his time at the newspaper that he was able to interview Arnold Palmer at the GJO Golf Tournament in Jacksonville. At FSU, he again joined the newspaper as a sportswriter, where he covered the FSU basketball, football, and judo teams. He always said some of his best moments in college were when he was writing for the papers. He graduated with a degree not in journalism but in geography. He found great pleasure in the art of map making in his cartography courses.

After graduation, Don took a job with an insurance company based in Philadelphia. After a couple of years, he then moved back to Jacksonville, where he began a long career in the insurance industry, working for companies such as Home Insurance, Independent Fire, Shelley-Middlebrook O'Leary, and All Lines Insurance. Don was a former member of the Toastmasters International club and Arlington United Methodist Church, where Don met Ann, his future wife. In his younger years, he loved to play golf and could be found most weekends on the green. Don loved to visit Hilton Head Island, Western North Carolina, and Daytona Beach. His travels took him on many adventures to New England, Lake Tahoe, the UK, Germany, Holland, and Belgium. His favorite international trip was to Australia, where he visited Philip and his family. Don was a big supporter of the Florida State Seminoles and has a 1986 letter signed by Bobby Bowden, whom he believed was the greatest football coach. He loved football and would talk for hours about the games. He was also a true Jaguars fan. As disgruntled as he would get sometimes with the team, he would stay positive about the next football season.

Don was preceded in death by, Ann, his wife of more than 43 years. He is survived by his sister, Nancy (Bill), nephews Justin (Peter) and Matthew (Jessica), great nephews James and Alex, stepdaughter Margaret, stepson Philip (Uta), sister-in-law Linda, and cousins all across the country. He was and always will be Grandpa Don to Amelia, Noella, and Lina. Don was predeceased by his parents, Anthony and Dorothy Passavanti.

Don had a great sense of humor and a hardy laugh. He will be dearly missed by his entire family and friends he made along the way. May he find peace and comfort in knowing that he was loved.

In lieu of flowers, we ask you make a donation to a charity of your choice in Don's name. There will be a Memorial Service at Arlington United Methodist Church – Saturday Nov 19th at 10:30am.