Colonel Donovan Russell Cumbie

Donovan Russell Cumbie was born in Athens, Texas, on February 12, 1946 to Grady Lee Cumbie and Dorothy Louise Cliver Cumbie.

Don graduated from Rockdale High School in May of 1964 where he was President of the student body and was a member of the National Honor Society.

He attended Texas A & M University on a Junior Engineering Technology (JETS) scholarship.  He was in the ROTC at A & M and was commissioned as a 2^nd Lt. in the U. S. Army.  After graduating in the Class of 1968, he received a degree in Mechanical Engineering and later a Master of Systems Management from the University of Southern California.

Following graduation from TAMU, he entered the U. S. Army and served his country for 28 years.

After being stationed in many locations in the United States, he became the Aviation Battalion Commander at Fr. Rucker Alabama Army Flight School.  Following his battalion command, Don served as the Director of Evaluation and Standardization for the U. S. Army.

In 1992 he became the Professor of Military Science at Texas A & M where he served for three years.  Following his retirement, he worked at Texas A & M as the Director of Employee Training.  Don then became the Human Resources Director at the Texas Forest Service where he served as an investigator. 

Following retirement from the Forest Service he devoted himself to Texas A & M sports: football, basketball, baseball, you name it, and he was there!

Don was an avid golfer and had many golfing buddies.  He was a Mason, a member of the Rotary Club, Army Aviation Association of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Army War College Alumni Association. During his 28 years in the Army, he made many friends in many locations and enjoyed keeping in touch with them.

He was a member of First Baptist Church in College Station for the past twelve years and enjoyed the camaraderie of his Sunday School class.

He was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather.  He also enjoyed hearing a good joke and sharing them with others.

Don was preceded in death by his parents, Grady and Louise Cumbie, his mother and father-in-law, Weldon and Dorothy Coleman, and his beloved daughter Heather Leigh Cannon.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Nancy Cumbie; his sisters, Darleen Tucker (Durwood), Rosemary Lawrence, (Royce); brother-in-law Ronnie Coleman (Shelly) and son-in-law Danny Cannon, and grandchildren Alexander Peden and Aidan Cannon.

The family requests donations and memorials be made to the American Heart Association.

Please click the following link to take a look into Don's career with the United States Army:   COL Cumbie, Donovan R. – United States Army Aviation Museum