Donald F. Hoskins

Donald Floyd Hoskins passed away on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 in Overland Park, KS. He was born on April 7, 1955 in Libertyville, IL to Charles Maxwell Hoskins and Ruth Marie Rittler. He graduated from Libertyville High School in 1973 and the University of Illinois in 1977 with a degree in mechanical engineering. After graduation he moved to Queens, NY where he met his wife of 38 years, Bertha. They raised their two children Diana (36) and Brian (32) in Brooklyn, NY, later moving to Melbourne, FL. He started his career in the macaroni industry following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather at DeFrancisci Machine Company (Demaco) in Brooklyn, designing and building industrial machines that made thousands of pounds of pasta per hour. Later, he moved to Melbourne with that company. He continued in the industry after Demaco dissolved, repairing many of the machines he designed, and selling new equipment at BDM. Donald had a lifelong passion for photography and in recent years, more specifically bird photography. He enjoyed driving between Florida and Kansas City, finding any birdwatching spots on the way and would take thousands of photos that he enjoyed sharing with anyone he could. He was an avid wine lover who was partial to a good glass of petit verdot. He had always enjoyed exploring and traveling throughout the US as well as various countries. He and his daughter were able to travel abroad together on a few occasions, sharing in their love of adventure. He was an incredibly proud grandfather and was able to have spent a lot of time with his only grandchild over the past year. Donald and his son bonded over their interests in computer games, anything mechanical, and often had long discussions about politics and world news. Donald is survived by his wife, Bertha, son Brian, and daughter Diana (Kyle) Hardey, granddaughter Chloe Jean, brother Andy, and sisters Glenda (Jim) Rieck, and Martha (Lee) Schwartz, as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. He will be sorely missed by all. Visitation will begin at 11am Saturday, July 29, 2023, until time of services at 1pm at Burnett-Dane Funeral Home, 120 W. Park Ave. Libertyville, IL. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to either the American Bird Conservancy www.abcbirds.org or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation www.jdrf.org. A Celebration of Life gathering will be hosted by his cousins Jamie Sloan and Jennifer Morales at 1101 Fair Oaks Ave, Oak Park, IL following the services. Arrangements are by the Burnett-Dane Funeral Home in Libertyville. Info: 847-362-3009 or please share a memory at www.burnettdane.com.

Donald F. Hoskins

April 7, 1955 - July 20, 2023