Donald C. De La Chapelle ’50

Don, a man of strong faith and love of family, died of Alzheimer’s disease June 21, 2013.

Don was born in New York City and graduated from Horace Mann School. At Princeton he was an advertising manager at The Daily Princetonian and the U-Store, belonged to Terrace, and majored in psychology.

The Army soon interrupted his career, which started with a New York advertising agency. Completing Officers’ Training School, he shipped out to Germany as a lieutenant in the engineering corps. After three years of service, he joined Pan American Airways, working in New York and Dallas, and back in New York in 1971, where he became a vice president.

When Pan Am reorganized a year later, he requested a return to Texas and then lived in Houston the rest of his life. Pan Am’s impending demise prompted him to join Atlas Travel, which specialized in corporate travel and was later acquired by a larger travel company, Navigant.

Extensive international travel had come with his career, so retirement in 2000 enabled Don and his wife to explore the United States. He was an avid gardener, a volunteer in many ministries, and a baseball fan.

Our sympathy goes to Peggy, his wife of 61 years; daughter Patty; son Bill; and six grandchildren.