Donald Klick

Donald P. Klick’s life could be defined as family-focused.  Every choice and decision he made was always with his family in mind.

Don was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA in the Greentree area.  His father was a carpenter and his mother was a telephone operator.   Don was the baby of the family, Gary his brother was the middle child and Ross is his oldest brother.  Don graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.   While he was there, he met his loving wife Theresa of 46 years.

Through his distinguished career Don has held several positions.   He worked for NASA, Sundstrand Corp., Tower Automotive, Strattec Security Corp., Textron Fastening Systems, Leonardo DRS Naval Power Systems INC., GE Power Conversion and owned his own consulting agency.  Throughout his career he worked on the Saturn V rocket, Space Shuttle, Boeing 737, Stealth Fighter F117A, B2 Bomber, US Naval Submarines and Ships, truck frames, Diamond Mines and obtained his 6Sigma black belt degree. He kept everything for years, including his college text books. His boys would joke about all he could save, until he was asked a question 20 years later about a pump, he helped design for the space shuttle. He had all the necessary information saved and was happy to share it.  Most recently he was extremely proud of his working relationship with the US Navy. He had a drive to do the what was right even if it affected him personally.  He was a mentor to many and was well respected and admired by all his colleagues as a co-worker and a friend.

Theresa was Don’s true love and he never left her side.  Whether it was just going to the grocery store together or their yearly trips to DC for Don’s work, they would have always been seen together.   He was extremely proud of his three sons Damon, Brian and Adam and would have given the shirt off his back for them.  He coached his kids on many sports teams, built bad-ass pine wood derby cars, worked on multiple car restorations with them, taught them how to work on home improvement projects, gave advice on careers or life in general and truly lead by example.  Don never had daughters, but he treated his daughter-in-law’s Elizabeth and Lisa, as his own. He was blessed with five beautiful grandchildren; Devin, Eliana, Aiden, Isabelle and Kendall and spent many weekends traversing the state to watch them participate in every activity that they loved. His love and pride for his grandchildren could be seen in his eyes.

Don’s nieces and nephews held a special place in his heart.  Every accomplishment they had he boasted to everyone and anyone.  He was always excited to see them and would try his best to see them every year, even with all of them living out of state.  He was the guy who gave his great-nieces and nephews donuts for breakfast, rented pontoon boats to make sure everyone was together and gathered all the family for any occasion.

Don was a planner and truly enjoyed vacationing with his family.  Even at the hospital struggling to breathe, he made sure the vacation planned for 2021 would still go through.   He had a unique signature which always included his middle initial.  He always set up Friday family dinners in which he would introduce himself as he called the hostess “Hi this is Don Klick, we have 12”.

Heaven is rejoicing as we grieve his loss.

A socially distanced Memorial Gathering at Krause Funeral Home, 21600 West Capitol Drive, Brookfield, Wisconsin, on Sunday, December 6, 2020, 4:00 PM – 6:45 PM CST. Memorial Service at 7:00 PM CST. Private urn placement at Wisconsin Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, memorials appreciated to the family.