Donald Monroe Kattner

Donald Monroe Kattner

Donald M. Kattner passed away on January 26, 2022 at his residence in Montrose, Colorado at the age of 74. Don was born on May 17, 1947 in Redding, California, to Donald Ray Kattner and Rebecca B. (Robinson) Kattner.

Don spent his early childhood in California on Hatchett Mountain where his dad worked for the Dept. of Transportation as a snow plow driver and heavy equipment operator. The family moved to Burney, CA where Don, and his younger sister Lynn, started school. He later attended Fall River High School in McArthur, CA, where he played football and participated in FFA activities, raising sheep and competing on the Parlimentary Procedure team. He graduated in 1966.

Don attended Shasta Community College in Redding, CA for 1 year prior to joining the service; he enlisted in the Navy and served in the United States Submarine Service from 1967-1970. He married Rebecca Lee Thompson in June of 1968 in Burney, CA and they raised four children together. The family moved to Colorado in 1975. He worked in the logging industry for many years before he was employed by the state of Colorado Department of Agriculture in wildlife management. He relocated to Clear Lake, California in

1991, also working in this field. After retiring in 2007 he moved to Crane, Oregon and in 2018 back to Montrose, CO to be closer to his family. In retirement he enjoyed gardening and storing his harvest for the winter months.

From a young age he enjoyed the outdoors, hunting and fishing whenever he could. As an adult, he made meticulous notes regarding his hunting and trapping experiences, and was featured as a prominent wildlife specialist in a book written about the interactions of humans and mountain lions titled “The Beast in the Garden: The True Story of a Predator’s Deadly Return to Suburban America,” by David Baron. He was also cited in a 1985 Smithsonian article regarding the tracking and study of mountain lions, among many other publications.

Donald is survived by his four children, daughter Haley Kattner, sons Aaron (Fotina) Kattner, James (Laura) Kattner and Donnie (Jody) Kattner, as well as his beloved sister Lynn (Bruce) Poulson and their son Zach Poulson. He has 8 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents Donald and Rebecca Kattner.

A celebration of his life with military honors will be held at 1:00 pm on February 12, 2022 at the Grandview Cemetery in Montrose, CO. There will be a gathering for family and friends following the service.