Donald Phillmore Lessig

Donald Phillmore Lessig, age 90, passed away on June 14, 2015 at Tryon Estates medical facility in Columbus, N.C. Born on August 15, 1924, in McKeesport, Pa., he was the only child of Sarah Elizabeth (Wolfe) and Israel Phillmore Lessig. He married Dorothy Jean Hobaugh in 1947 and they remained blissfully married for almost 68 years.

Don was a military veteran, having served during WWII in the Engineers, 14th Armored  Division (T/5 truck driver) in the U.S. and Europe, and again during the Korean War in the Corps of Engineers as a 1st Lieutenant in the Aviation Engineers during that conflict. He earned his bachelors and masters degrees, plus a year of doctoral studies, in civil engineering at Carnegie Tech, in Pittsburgh, PA.

Don retired in 1983 from Gulf Oil Corp., as vice president of domestic refining in Houston, Texas. During his 30-year career with Gulf Oil, he had numerous assignments in the U.S. as well as 10 years overseas, including manager of engineering at an oil refinery in Venezuela and project manager for the design, construction and startup of two grass-roots oil refineries in Spain.

Don’s track record of successful execution of difficult projects continued after his return to the U.S. at Gulf General Atomic (San Diego, Calif.) in 1972 to lead the struggling Fort St. Vrain nuclear power plant project as vice president of startup and commissioning. He was later vice president of a Department of Energy alternate fuels program in Denver, Colo., which included Japanese and German affiliates, to develop a process to produce liquid petroleum products from coal.

After his retirement from Gulf Oil, he was sought out as a consultant for a hazardous waste incineration startup company and later for the design, financing, construction and startup of a small oil refinery in Suriname, South America.

After retirement, Don and his wife, Jean, moved to Tryon Estates. He served as president of the residents’ association for two years and later as an officer in the Polk County Community Foundation. Don and Jean enjoyed travelling the globe on cruises to the South Pacific, Alaska, Africa, Europe and the Caribbean.

Don was a 32nd Degree Mason, a Shriner, a member of engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi, as well as Sigma Xi and the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Preceded in death by his wife, Jean, and parents, Don is survived by four children: Donald Keith (Carol Renee Breed) Lessig of Gretna, La., Pamela Jean Lessig of Brownstown, Pa., Wendy Sue Lessig of Tooele, Utah, and Donna Ellen Tracy of Littleton, Colo.; five grandchildren, Brian Keith Lessig, Andrew Kyle (Krystle Alaina Bentel) Lessig, Rachel Renee Lessig, Sara Tracy, and Shannon Tracy; and two great-granddaughters, Alaina and Kandace Lessig.

A celebration of Don’s life will be held in the auditorium of Tryon Estates on Monday, September 21, 2015 at 2 p.m. Please no flowers. Memorial gifts may be made to the Shriner’s Children Hospital-Greenville, 950 Farris Rd., Greenville, SC 29605.

Cremains are to be interned at Denmark Manor Cemetery near Export, Pa.