Sept. 23, 1936–March 31, 2026
Donn Mattusch went home to be with his Lord on March 31, 2026. He was born in Davenport, Iowa on Sept. 23, 1936 to Donald and Garnet Mattusch. At an early age they moved to Waterloo, Iowa, where Donn received his primary education. He loved to swim and was a lifeguard in the summers.
After graduating high school, he went to Kansas City Institute of Art for one and a half years, then changed gears and went to The State University of Iowa and graduated with a BA in mathematics. His first job was in Southern California with Northrop Aerospace, so he moved there with his wife and had his first son. Deciding he did not want to raise his son in the big city, he moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1966 where he worked for IBM and had his second son.
Donn loved to photograph God’s creation and along the way climbed 14,000 foot peaks, hiked and camped, which he did for the next 40 years. After he was divorced, he moved to the Denver area where he lived for about the next 20 years. He taught himself how to run a computer and worked on mainframes for many years as a computer programmer, then switched over to PC’s and did contract work all over the nation. He always preferred small towns such as Pierre, SD—one of the coldest places on earth—-and Tupelo, MS—home of Elvis Presley.
Donn met Sally in church and after a long courtship they were married in 1984 and then moved from Denver to Montrose, CO where they bought 11 acres and built an adobe home that looked out over the beautiful San Juan Mountain. There were plenty of deer and elk to photograph, as well as the stunning scenery of southwest Colorado. He then spent two summers working in Anchorage, Alaska where the photography of bears and moose was plentiful. In Montrose he started attending a Presbyterian PAC Church where he had many friends and said it was the happiest time of his life—except for when he was with his two sons!
After retiring from computer work, he sold real estate for a few years. His last jobs were driving jeep tours in the San Juan Mountains, which was the most fun job he had ever had.
Sally’s health began to fail so they moved to Morristown, Arizona where she could be near her daughter. Donn continued to hike and photograph until his health also began to fail. That came with a few mishaps as he fell upside down coming off a solo hike up Vulture Peak in the Sonoran Desert one day. He had quite a time getting turned right side up and removing the cactus from his clothes.
After the passing of Sally, Donn moved to Big Sky to live with his son and finish out his years back in the Rocky Mountains. The desert heat in AZ was stifling, and he loved the cold fresh air of the Rockies. Most important of all, Donn wanted to serve the Lord in whatever capacity he was able, such as attending and teaching Bible studies, and researching and writing on different subjects of the Bible. He published his passion project before he passed, “God’s Covenant of Love: The Blood Covenant.” His greatest hope was to see his children come to know thy Lord and have them know the certainty that when they face Jesus, he will say, “well done thy good and faithful servant” just as his word says he will do to all of us that have called upon his name for salvation.
Donn is survived by his sons, Don and Dan; granddaughter, Kristina; and great grandchildren, Genesse and Estes. He’s also survived by his stepson, Rob and his step grandchildren, Mike and Jessica. Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service.
