Donovan Ector Monteith died Sept. 6, 2013 at Whidbey General Hospital at the age of 94. He was born Feb. 13, 1919 in Redwood City, Calif. to Andrew and Vera Monteith. Donovan was raised in Redwood City and then moved with his parents to Alhambra, Calif., where he graduated from high school. He attended Pasadena Community College for two years before he was drafted into the U.S. Army.

Donovan was assigned to the 419 Signal Corp Company in 1941 and sent to special training at Fort Monmouth, N.J., where he was trained in military electronics and communications. He was transferred to Australia, where he was instrumental in developing a high power communications system for the South West Pacific Command and earned him the title of Chief Radio Mechanic.

Following the war, Donovan returned to the states and went to work for Pacific Bell Telephone Company as a PBX repairman, working on switch boards and large dial systems. He was sent to repair a system at the Bank of America building in downtown Los Angeles and met a young operator, Velma Wuethrich, who had a vast knowledge of the problems with the system. Donovan was amazed at her ability to diagnose the problems.

Donovan fell in love with her but nothing transpired for one year, until he received a call from Velma asking him to escort her to a birthday party. Soon they both discovered they were in love and on Nov. 14, 1948, they were married in Pasadena, Calif. They honeymooned in Hawaii and returned to California.

Donovan and Velma moved into a new home in Alhambra and also purchased a cabin in the mountains of Idyllwild, Calif. to escape the L.A. smog. Three children were added to the Monteith Family and they eventually moved to Monterey Park, where they built a new home with an incredible view of the Pacific Ocean. Donovan was involved in the construction of much of the communications equipment in Hollywood and Burbank for the major television shows and was able to get tickets for his children to attend the shows and meet some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

Donovan retired from Pacific Bell with 38 years of service. He began his career at a PBX repairman and retired as Senior Engineer. Donovan was a member of the American Radio Relay League and a Ham radio operator for most of his adult life, with the call sign WG7W, a member of the Telecommunications Workers of America, the United States Power Squadron, the NRA and the Republican Party.

Donovan is survived by one daughter Donna Monteith Lay, son Michael and granddaughter Lindsey Thompson. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Velma on July 29, 2013, by his son-in-law Chris in June of this year and by one son Mark. Cremation was held with private interment to follow at San Gabriel Cemetery, San Gabriel, Calif., alongside his beloved Velma.

A Celebration of Life for Donovan is 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013 at Wallin Funeral Home in Oak Harbor. A reception will follow. Friends and family are encouraged to share condolences and memories in the Book of Memories hosted by Wallin Funeral Home at www.wallinfuneralhome.com