Donald James Josaitis passed away on June 6, 2020 after a brief illness.

Born on October 18, 1929 to John and Edna (LaForest) Josaitis, Donald and his siblings, Jack, Richard, Bob and Delores, lived in a brown bungalow on Cheyenne Street in Detroit, and Donald went on to marry Eleanor Mary (Reed) Josaitis, who lived across the street.

They regularly attended Madonna Catholic Church in Detroit, and were committed to their five children, Mark (Gladys) Josaitis, Janet (Jim) Denk, Michael Josaitis, Tom (Janet) Josaitis and Mary (Mark) Lendzion, and cherished their seven grandchildren, including Nora, David, Alison, Elizabeth, Kevin, Alec and Chelsie.

With a passion for model airplanes, cars and boats, Donald owned and operated Joe's Hobby Center, with his brother, Jack. There were four locations, including Dearborn, East Detroit, Rochester and Farmington, and Donald and Jack, as well as their stores, were well-known in the hobby community.

When Donald was not working, flying one of his radio-controlled planes or launching one of his radio-controlled boats, he spent as much time as he could with his wife, Eleanor, who cofounded Focus: HOPE with Fr. William Cunningham in the wake of the riots in Detroit in 1967, as well as with his children and grandchildren.

With family, he enjoyed vacations, celebrating holidays, sitting by campfires and watching freighters go by at his cottage on Lake Huron.

He was known for being very hardworking, dedicated, caring and generous.  He was good at making his family laugh, which prompted his grandchildren to tease that they could write a "book of grandpa-isms."

Donald, who is preceded in death by his parents, siblings and wife, had a compassion and concern for his family and friends that ran deep, and he will live on in their hearts.

Memorial gathering of family and friends will take place at the Dearborn Chapel of Howe-Peterson Funeral Home (22546 Michigan Ave.) on Tuesday, June 9th from 4-8pm. Service will take place at 7:00pm. There will be a limit of 10 people permitted in each room at a time and facemasks are asked to be worn.

Donations in Donald's memory to Focus:Hope may be made through the following link:

https://www.focushope.edu/donate/