Donald J. Gifford Sr., 79, passed away at his home in Lead on Thursday, November 24, 2022.  Don was the youngest child/son born on October 4, 1943, in the family's farmhouse in Nampa, Idaho, to Jonas (Joe) E. and Margaret F. (Hixon) Gifford. He grew up in Nampa until the 1st grade when the family moved to Nisland, South Dakota, where he lived until he graduated from Vale High School in 1961.  After high school and a semester in college, he served in the United States Navy on a submarine during the Vietnam War.

In 1967, he married Mickie (Vandine). The couple raised two children in Lead on 3rd Street with Don working in the Homestake Gold Mine for many years until it's closing.

As new empty nesters, Don and Mickie moved across town to Ridge Road where they both lived the remainder of their days.

Not long after Mickie's passing on November 4, 2016, in an Omaha, Nebraska hospital, he retired as a handyman for a Deadwood casino and spent time with his son and his family in Lead and traveled a few times to Oregon to visit his daughter and her family.  He filled the last few years of his life working at Dakota Gold but also making desks, birds, etc. out of wood and feeding the birds and deer that visited his backyard.

Survivors include his son, Donald Jr., (Brandee), Lead, his daughter Jeanne (Daniel), Oregon, his grandchildren; Aidan, Oregon, Ceili (Chase), Oregon, John Thomas, Lead, Mia, Lead, two of Mickie's siblings and their families, some of his nieces, nephews, and cousins, and a few dear friends who will miss him greatly.

Don was preceded in death by his parents, his two brothers James (Jim) and Jerry and their wives, a grandson, a granddaughter, his wife Mickie as well as her parents and three of her siblings.

Burial will most likely be in the spring, for both Don and wife Mickie, at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that a donation be made to a wildlife conservation organization, specifically in appreciation for deer and birds.

Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com