Donald James Best

HENDERSONVILLE- Donald James Best, 92, passed away Saturday, June 23rd in the Asheville VA Medical Center’s Hospice program. He was a very proud US Navy veteran of WWII, entering out of high school and serving during the war on a Subchaser in the North Atlantic.  After 10 years of military service, Don worked on amphibious aircraft for Chalks Flying Service and sailing ships for Windjammer Cruises in Bimini, Bahamas and Miami, FL, where he met Joyce, soon to become his wife and mother of his children, Michael and Jennifer.  He began his career as a carpenter and craftsman in Miami, moving his family to Hendersonville in 1979, to open a cabinet business.  Upon retirement, his greatest joys were building furniture, picking some bluegrass tunes on his tenor banjo, making scale models of military ships from blueprints, and restoring a 1945 military GPW Jeep from the ground up with his son.  He will be remembered as a strong, proud, and loving father.  He will be interred at Black Mountain Veterans Cemetery, date to be determined.  Meanwhile, we will put on a Stanley Brothers album, raise a toast to you, dad, and celebrate your life.  We will miss you greatly.

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