Capt. Donald Max “Don” Fuston, 85, Lecompton, died Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, at Midland Hospice Care in Topeka.
He was born Aug. 24, 1930, in Iola, the son of Thomas Jefferson and Goldie Ruth Broughton Fuston. He was a 1948 graduate of Moran High School and earned an engineering degree in 1950 from Finley Engineering College in Kansas City, Mo.
He was a U.S. Air Force veteran, Airman 1st class, serving during the Korean War from March 1951 to December 1952. He retired as captain from Trans World Airlines in 1985 after 31 years of service to T.W.A. “Don” was very proud to have started as an airplane mechanic and advance to flight engineer, to first officer and then to captain during his career with T.W.A.
He was a cattleman, and the Fuston family operated a custom hay operation in the Douglas County area for many years. He was a member of the Lecompton United Methodist Church and the Airlines Pilots Association. He was a member and former president of the Hart-Parr Oliver Tractor Collectors Association and was a member and former board member of Douglas County Farm Bureau. He also served as president of the Kanwaka Rural Water District No. 6 in Douglas County. He had also earned many awards for soil conservation and was known as a solar pioneer in the area.
He was married to Margaret G. Bacon on April 9, 1950, in Bronson. She survives at the home, as do two sons, David (Michele Simmons) Fuston, Liberty, Mo., and Andrew Dean Fuston, New York, N.Y.; one daughter, Annette D. Fuston, Wichita; one sister, Ruth Elaine Dillo, Chanute; five grandchildren, John Fuston, Nick Fuston, Chris Fuston, Claire Fuston and Katie Stewart. He was preceded in death by one son, Paul R. Fuston.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Lecompton United Methodist Church. Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Thursday at the church. Graveside services are at 3 p.m. Friday at Moran Cemetery. Memorial gifts may be made to Lecompton United Methodist Church in care of Barnett Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 602, Oskaloosa, KS 66066.
Don Fuston
