Donald Joseph Skinner passed away at the age of 85 on December 7, 2016 at Our Lady of Fatima Villa Nursing Home in Saratoga, California.

Born in Grand Rapids, MI, Don was the only child of Joseph and Marge (née Astrid Margaretta Jensen) Skinner.   From them, he was of English and Danish ancestry.  He was raised in Hastings, MI.  Later he attended the University of Michigan, where he earned a B.A. in Architecture in 1956 and a M.A. in City Planning in 1959.  During his undergraduate years, he made lifelong friends among his Delta Chi Fraternity brothers, who included Bill Thewalt, Tom Michalski, Tom French, and Bill Cortright.  He was a charter member of the American Institute of City Planners and member of the American Planning Assoc.  For all of his adult life, he was a faithful and active Episcopalian, who served as a lay Eucharistic minister, lector, and Vestry member.  He also loved Taizé services, Cursillo music, and the interplay of spirituality and creativity.

He was married to Paula (née Curtin) Skinner for 25 years, and they had two children, Christen and Matthew.  Chris married David Agnello and they have two children, Xander and Serra.  Matt married Heidi and they have two children, Ryane and Nick.  In 1993, Don married The Rev. Debra Low-Skinner at St. Luke's in Los Gatos.  During Debbie's 20-year clerical career, they lived in Monterey, CA; New Bedford, MA; Long Island, NY; and Campbell, CA.

During Don's nearly 40 year career as an urban planner, he worked as plan-ning and management staff for the planning departments of Detroit MI, Oakland County MI, and Chicago, IL (where he became friends with Dean Macris and Tom Melone); the New England Regional Commission in Boston MA; and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) in Berkeley, CA.  Then Don, with his ABAG friends, Don Woolfe, Leon Pirofalo, and Bob Harrison, founded the consulting group Planning Research Associates.

Don enjoyed newspaper reading (especially op-eds); following politics, local planning issues, and sports (especially UofM football, tennis, and Boston Red Sox baseball); doing pen and ink drawings of churches and homes; taking photos; and taking car trips.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014 or a charity of your choice.

Family and Friends are invited to attend the Memorial Service at 2:00 P.M. on Friday January 6, 2017 at St Luke's Episcopal Church, 20 University Ave., Los Gatos, CA 95030