Stories and memories shared at the Memorial Ceremony

"Resilience, determination, professionalism, and decency, pride for a job well done, strength of family and good humor…” These descriptions and several heart-warming stories were part of the memorial ceremony held Monday, May 18, honoring Don Kendall, an ODOT employee killed in the line of duty in 2014. Here we share the words of some of those who spoke at the event:

From Ace Clark, Assistant District Manager
As a new ADM without a maintenance background I wanted some field experience and a chance to meet crew members in the District. I had the opportunity to work alongside Don for a week on a maintenance project. During that week, Don was on the job before me, left after me, and out worked me. Don discussed the importance of our work throughout the day and trained me. He made everyone feel good about the accomplishments we were making and he talked about the value our services provide to the public. Don was happy, enjoyed hard work, did not complain, and his attitude carried throughout the crew and project. Don gave me a local ODOT history lesson throughout the week. He particularly had a great time telling me many funny and incriminating stories involving our District Manager while they worked together on the Ukiah Crew. He encouraged me with a smile to bring these stories back to the office and validate with her. 

Don is an exception. Don’s work ethic, dedication to the agency, and sense of responsibility to provide service to the public gave me a high level of respect for all maintenance employees and helped me understand the value we can provide to the public. Don made a lasting impression on me. I have at least 25 years left in my career and the opportunity to carry on and share these fundamental lessons and values. I am thankful and value the time I was able to spend with him.


From the Heppner/Spray Crew (Shawn King)
Don Kendall was a true family man, he was honest, well respected, he was dedicated and he loved his ODOT job and his ODOT family. The first to smile and tell a good story, and Don had many years of experience and numerous good stories to tell. He was happy to share his skills and knowledge and he was determined to do his best no matter how big or small the job.


From the Hermiston Crew (Paul Howland)
If there was a definition for ODOT in the dictionary somewhere in there Don’s name would be mentioned. Don was as dedicated of an employee as anyone could ever hope for. After spending about 5 minutes working with Don, you also knew without question he was a caring husband, father, grandfather and friend. For those of us that could call Don our friend, we knew he was caring, trustworthy, a little stubborn, dedicated, and hardworking. These were just a few words to help describe Don. We, at ODOT, should feel fortunate to have such a great ambassador for what ODOT considers its greatest asset, our Employees. We can only hope to honor Don in the work we continue to do every day.


From the Ukiah Crew (Jody Woodell)
When I first learned to drive truck I struggled with starting out on an uphill grade. I was afraid I’d roll back or mess something up in the transmission because I couldn’t get it in the right gear. So one fall day Don said let’s go to the Mt., Battle Mt. to be exact. On the steepest grade he told me to stop. I said here. He said yep, so I did. But I also said what if I can’t find a gear. Don said between you and my 200 + pounds, I think we’ll find a gear, if not we’ll make one. So making gears and finding them we did, about a hundred and fifty times that day. Every time I messed up Don would smile and say we got nothing but time Jod. And it took lots of time and practice but he never gave up on me. 

Don had way more confidence in me than I had in myself. He was an amazing teacher and mentor but most of all he was my friend. A friend I love and miss. I strive every day to be the person he thought I was and could be. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss his infectious smile, uplifting attitude, contagious laughter and his prideful joy in his work and family. We talked about our families both work and home every day. Family and work were very important to Don. If you were lucky enough to know or work with Don you knew you had a friend for life.


From Marilyn Holt, D12 Manager
I first met Don Kendall in June, 1988.  We worked together on the Ukiah crew.  I was a summer temp working through a job training program.  I was 19 years old and it is safe to say, I didn’t know much.  Don started a few years before in a similar way.

On a maintenance crew, the people around you are who help you be successful. If you listen, work hard, do your share, jump in and help, and answer the call when you are needed, you can learn a ton from the folks around you. Ukiah crew was productive and everyone got along well. My work there in the summer was a far cry from my part time college jobs in the winter. These guys worked hard and played hard.

Don would talk to me about ODOT and that to him it was like a big family. You showed loyalty to your crew, had ownership for your section and every person going up and down the road was your responsibility. 

Don was the type of employee who always answered the phone and I can honestly say I don’t ever remember him complaining about overtime or hard work. He was always willing to jump in and do the dirty work, the hardest physical work and he always helped you if you needed a hand with something, whether it was on the job or off. His expectation was that you would do the same thing. If you didn’t, he let you know that you needed to do better.    

When I became the coordinator on the crew and later the manager, Don helped me be a better leader with some very simple rules: Always take your issues directly to the person, always do what you say you will do, be honest, be direct, acknowledge the good stuff, work the hardest and care about the people around you. He also taught many of us a very important lesson. NEVER try to outwork him, it wasn’t possible and you might injure yourself trying.

We had some great times, some terrific arguments, and got a lot of work done in between. From getting me unstuck (I never heard the end of the GMC saved the Ford), to tossing away the cap and passing the bottle for a toast to a crew member leaving or promoting, to lunch time talks alongside the road about his girls and Karen, elk hunting, motorcycles and life, he was just always there.

Over the years, Don was my neighbor, a coworker, a mentor, and a friend. The loss that I feel for the Ukiah crew, ODOT, Don’s family and for myself is something that I am still struggling to get my mind around. A few weeks before the accident we sat in my office talking about our time here and I had the opportunity to tell Don how much I appreciate the work he has done and what a great example he was. He was here with his granddaughter and we talked about whether he was going to retire. He told me he wasn’t in a hurry. He still loved it here. 

From the Pendleton Crew (Robin Berheim)
There are no words that can describe the loss felt. Nor are there words that can describe Don being an outstanding friend, co-worker, ODOT employee, and mentor who would help anyone in need. Don was the best and the hole that his loss has left at work and in our lives is bigger than a person could imagine.