Donald P. Paffile

2/28/1928 — 1/3/2017

Service Date: 1/14/2017
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Donald Paul Paffile, 88, passed away Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, from causes related to age.

Don was born Feb. 28, 1928, to John and Phoebe Paffile. He grew up with his brothers and sisters working in the truck gardens that used to supply fresh produce to many of the area grocery stores in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley and the Camas Prairie.

During high school, Don was on the boxing and football teams, and these were sports he enjoyed watching for many years with his son. He often told the story about scoring the winning touchdown in the Lewiston-Clarkston rivalry game that was always held on Thanksgiving, while his dad and uncle Red ran along the sidelines with him.

With his mother's permission, Don enlisted for the U.S. Army before graduating from high school. He was deployed to Germany and thus began his education in the vocation that would become his life passion and employment: the trucking business.

In recent years, Don was awarded an honorary degree from Lewiston High School. He was honored and very proud to be a veteran of World War II.

After he returned home, Don married Dolores Jean Insteness on Aug. 12, 1950, and they had daughter Coralee and son Ty. Together they raised the children and in 1953 created Paffile Truck Lines. After they divorced, Dolores continued to work with Don in the business. Don then married Brenda (Saltz) McCann, who had two children - Scott and Peggy. They later divorced. Don owned trucking businesses until he retired in 2014. He and Dolores always held family in high regard and remained close until Dolores passed away in August 2012. Holidays were always spent together as one big, extended family.

While the kids were young, Don enjoyed boating and water sports and taught his children and many others how to ski at very early ages. They performed in the Banana Belt water ski show every year between the Lewiston and Clarkston beaches. During these years, the Paffile family would take the boat up to the Red Bird Beach to spend every summer weekend.

Don was an avid fan and supporter of baseball in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, like many Paffiles before him. He enjoyed driving the double-decker bus and supporting the American Legion baseball team in the late 1960s and early '70s. He sponsored the Paffile Truckers, LCSC's summer baseball team, for many years. He attended as many World Series games as he could and enjoyed visiting the folks in the stands as much as watching the games.

Don is survived by his brother, Ned; daughter Coralee Paffile Amans; son Ty (Frankie); grandchildren Blair Murphy and TyAnn (Mike) Severtson; and great-grandchildren Noah and Ian McCarley, Celeste Paffile, as well as SeAnna and Caden Severtson. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother R.R. "Sonny"; and sisters Mary Anderson and Joyce Carson.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. next Saturday at Vassar Rawls Funeral Home in Lewiston, with Fred Schmidt officiating.