On March 1, 1937, two sweethearts who met at the Rawlinsville Methodist camp meeting, John Mitchell Duvall and Ethel Mae Trimble, became happy parents of their third son, Donald Delano Duvall.  Don was born at home in West Lampeter Township, southeast of Lancaster, PA.  Don and his three brothers John Eugene, Robert Lee, and Gerald Earl helped their parents work on farms in the West Lampeter area.  Don learned some of life's lessons while planting tobacco and keeping up with the pace of the mules and later hanging it in the sheds, stripping it and bundling it; leading teams of tomato pickers; milking cows (walking up hill both ways in the winter); detailing cars; and helping Mr. Fry with his show horses. He played basketball and soccer.  And every spring, he played his favorite game, baseball, on the high school and American Legion fields across eastern Pennsylvania.

During the fall of 1951, he accepted an invitation to go on a hay ride from fellow ninth grader Bernice Arlene Book.  Bernie had had her eye on Don since the fourth grade, sitting behind him that year, a few rows in front of him the next year, and across the room from him in sixth grade. After dating through high school then his time in college and her time in nurses' training, Don asked Bernie to be his beautiful bride. In September 1959 they married in Willow Street and went on to enjoy 62 years of marriage. They had three children, Jeff, Doug, and Beth, whom they loved.

In 1955 Don headed northwest to the Pennsylvania State University (PSU). While studying, he babysat and did yardwork to cover his housing and worked at West Halls and fraternities to pay for his schooling. While at Penn State, Don had participated in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps.

In 1960 he graduated PSU with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He was hired by ITE Circuit Breaker Company (later ITE Imperial Company) in Philadelphia. As an application engineer, he worked with two development engineers (Charles Gallant and Warren Hammonds) to develop a system and process for seismically testing and certifying electrical switchgear for nuclear power plants of electric utilities that assured the equipment would function during and after an earthquake.

In 1961 he attended basic training at Lackland Air Force Base.  While there, he received the American Spirit Honor Medal for earning the highest score on a civic information test, foreshadowing his passion for public service later in life. He later served in the Air Force Reserves.

Don participated in a two-year management training program in which he gained experience in sales and marketing. He continued to learn and grow, traveling to manufacturing plants and clients' offices across the country and eventually around the world.  As ITE became part of Gould and later BBC Brown Boveri Inc., he served as a leader and manager in the electrical switchgear industry. Along the way, he mentored his team members and developed friendships that he would treasure and nurture for the rest of his life – sharing stories of family and friends and work experiences and solving the world's problems.

After a company re-organization, in 1987 he joined Cablec Utility Cable Co. He attained the position of Corporate Vice President and President of Cablec Utility Cable Company, BICC Cables Corporation.  In 1994 he was listed in the International Who's Who of Professionals.

On weekends and holidays, Don and Bernie loved working in the yard together. He enjoyed his "tractor time"; Don could be heard mowing rocks in the dark on a summer Saturday night.

Don enjoyed sharing time with family. He especially enjoyed sharing time with them and doing things he loved:  Fishing, golfing, pheasant hunting, seeing the beauty of the United States from the ground rather than from an airplane window, supporting the Philadelphia Phillies and the Penn State Nittany Lions, and horseback riding, all enhanced by a rich soundtrack of music - country and western, gospel, and jazz music – with Merle, Willie & Waylon, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and every Friday with Frank.  Later in life he shared tales of his time in the hills of southwestern Virginia with his paternal grandparents, where family members would sit on the front porch and play instruments and sing – in the birthplace of mountain music.

He strove to give back to his community by using his gift for management, serving on and leading the consistory at Trinity United Church of Christ, coaching and eventually leading the Pennridge Little League, serving as an assistant cub scout leader, and later in life serving as a guest speaker at a class on State and Local Government at Bucks County Community College and sharing with cub scouts about the importance of civic duty. He also enjoyed lighter roles such as volunteering at the Grand View Hospital's annual golf tournament, joining his wife in monitoring one of the holes to verify any holes-in-one.

After retiring from BICC Cables Corporation in 1997, Don collaborated with several former colleagues and served as a consultant to the industry he had helped to shape. Still striving to improve systems and processes, he and his colleagues John Roselle and Dave Lindstrom developed a process for managing large reels of electrical power cable for utilities, eventually receiving a U.S. patent.

Don then turned his focus to public service in West Rockhill Township. He eventually sat on the Board of Supervisors.  He and his fellow supervisors strove to develop and improve the financial stability of the township. Again striving to improve systems and processes, he helped to develop and implement short- and long-term plans for the township.  He was an avid supporter of and instrumental in protecting the creeks that originate and flow through West Rockhill Township and conserving open space in the township.  He continued to grow and learn and share his gifts as he participated in and led the Bucks County Association of Township Officials and was appointed to the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors.

Don fought the good fight.  He died on May 12, 2022.

He is, and will be, missed.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Bernice Arlene of Sellersville, PA; brother Robert Duvall of Willow Street, PA; sisters-in-law, Dorothy Book of Lititz, PA and Teresa Turner of Elizabethtown, PA; son Jeffrey Mitchell and his wife Janice of Baxley, GA; son John Douglas and his wife Tracey of Granville, OH; daughter Elizabeth Anne and her husband Mark, of Loveland, CO; eight grandchildren; 13 great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

A celebration of life will be held on Friday, May 20, 2022 at the Williams-Bergey-Koffel Funeral Home, 667 Harleysville Pike, Telford, PA 18969; visitation from 1 to 1:45 PM, service at 2 PM.  Those who are not able to attended the service, it can be viewed by clicking here.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Heritage Conservancy , Four Diamonds at Penn State Health Children's Hospital, 1249 Cocoa Avenue, Suite 115, P.O. Box 852,Hershey, PA 17033-0852, or Grandview Hospital Foundation - cancer care or cardiology .