Nebraska football lost one of their biggest fans on December 1st, 2020 as Donne Dean Slaby passed away surrounded by loved ones at his home in Naperville, IL after a long battle with multiple myeloma. Don was born October 24, 1939, in Smith Center, KS to Ed and Mabel (Miller) Slaby. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, Vyrnon and Darla, and is survived by wife, Barbara, and their two children, Mark (daughter-in-law Dana, grandchildren Taylor and Jackson) and Scott (daughter-in-law Michelle, grandchildren Jonathan and Naomi), his brother Bryce, various nieces and nephews and many Slaby and Miller cousins. Don grew up on a family farm outside of Red Cloud, NE that is very close to the state borderline of Kansas and Nebraska. He attended a one-room country schoolhouse from grades K-8 with the neighboring farm kids and then upon entering high school, he moved into town during the weekdays to live with his grandpa so that he could attend Red Cloud High School. In 1957, he graduated from high school with the roughly 30 other students in his class. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and he served from 1958-60, sailing on the USS Elkhorn as a Storekeeper Third Class. While stationed in Hawaii, he learned to hone his accounting skills while taking classes at the University of Hawaii and he decided to continue his studies in Accounting/Economics at the University of Nebraska after an honorable discharge from the Navy. While at Nebraska, he served as the president of Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity. In 1963, he became the first member of his family to ever graduate from college. Upon graduation, he was hired by Eastman Kodak and worked for the company for 28 years as a regional credit manager in New York, California, Texas and Illinois. While working for Kodak, he was trained through the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Executive Education Program for Credit and Financial Management in 1978 and received top honors in his cohort. Throughout his career, Don participated in several professional organizations and served as the Chairman of the Credit Research Foundation. In 1971, he married Barbara Kaveney and they had two children, Mark and Scott. Don and Barb finally settled down to live in Naperville, IL in 1983 and remained in the same house for 37 years. Don would officially retire from Kodak in 1992. Always enjoying a good laugh, when Don officially decided to retire from Kodak, he donned his old cowboy boots, kicked them up on his desk, blared “Take This Job and Shove It" over a boombox in his office and announced his retirement to his coworkers. However, his retirement was short-lived and he always took pride in the fact that he had set himself up to start work the very next day at Abbott Laboratories and continued to work for the company for 9 years as a Director of Corporate Credit. He permanently retired in 1999 and he and Barb eventually would spend winters in Surprise, AZ. Over the years, he enjoyed spending time with family and friends, traveling (visiting all of our 50 states, all 7 continents, and over 50 countries) and following various sports teams particularly the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. He attended Nebraska games each season over almost 45 years, including the 1994, 1995 and 1997 national championship games. Over the years, he often stated his favorite job assignment while working for Kodak was when he worked as an auditor for the 1964/1965 World's Fair in New York City and his favorite ride was It’s a Small World. He had the honor of taking his entire family to Disneyland and accompanying his four grandchildren on that very same ride in 2018 - a true bucket list item for Don. In fact, we all went back and rode on it a few times with him during that trip just for good measure. Don always loved the Nebraska state slogan - the good life. He believed passionately in the humble, hardworking, simple living that was ingrained in him growing up in Nebraska and he never forgot that mindset throughout his entire life. This year Don and Barb celebrated their 49th anniversary on the day before his 81st birthday. And, yes they got to sit and watch the Tribute together and reminisce on all the good times they shared with so many friends and family. Barb provided unwavering support throughout their marriage especially during his final years. One of our greatest joys was when doctors told dad it was time to start crossing items off of his bucket list and he confidently responded without hesitation, “I’ve already done everything on my list.” We are so grateful that he lived a full life. So many of you were able to come help him celebrate his 80th birthday in 2019 and that was a true celebration of life for him. Don always said he wanted to have a big party instead of a funeral to celebrate his life and we feel very fortunate that we were able to give that to him when he was alive and feeling good enough to attend such an event. Over the last several years he always loved visiting with friends and family, even if it was just over the phone. In the end, Don taught his sons how to haggle, how to cheer, how to have fun in life, how to work hard, how to truly live life to the fullest and how to never, ever give up. After a five-year battle with cancer, Don will once again wear those very same “retirement” boots along with a BIG RED Nebraska tie as he moves on to his final resting place in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery on Friday, December 4th. Given the current COVID-19 restrictions on ceremonies, we will be having a private burial with immediate family and we will be planning a remembrance at a later date when we can gather safely to celebrate Don’s life. We will follow up with details for that event when appropriate. In the meantime, it’s no secret that Don always loved to pinch a penny and preferred a good investment that produced positive results over wasting a single cent. It’s safe to say that at this time, as beautiful as flowers are, he would view flowers as a bad investment given their limited shelf life and their inability to help care for others who will inevitably endure the same challenges he did as a cancer patient. Instead of flowers, our family would request that you invest in the fight against cancer in honor of Don at one of the following organizations listed below. We have provided more details on why he would have thought each of the following donations would be a good return on your investment. American Red Cross Blood Services - As Don did throughout his life, Scott and Mark plan to donate blood for the remainder of their lives and would ask that you join them in doing the same to help people in need of blood. Don became very dependent on platelet and blood transfusions over the final two years of his life and we appreciate the fact that so many people selflessly donated their blood to help a stranger continue to fight for more time. This doesn’t require money, but simply your time and each time you can make a donation you will be honoring Don. https://www.redcrossblood.org/ Edward Foundation’s Oncology Fund - This fund supports new facilities, equipment, technology and patient services that benefit patients battling cancer at Edward Hospital in Naperville. Don spent several days a week at Edward’s Cancer Center to receive treatment just ten minutes away from his house. They provided such great care and have a compassionate, caring staff and we would love to support them. https://www.eehealth.org/ways-to-give/edward-foundation/ University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center - For their innovative approach to treating cancer that allowed Don to extend his life when he was given only a few weeks to live back in May of 2018. Please help fund their cancer research efforts as they try to find new approaches to treating multiple myeloma and other cancers. https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/cancer/give Patriot Education Fund - Don was a firm believer that education was a way to improve one’s life and he always stated his life was drastically changed by his decision to go to college. His military service served as a bridge to his pursuit of college when he began taking college classes at the University of Hawaii and then getting a degree from the University of Nebraska. Please consider a donation to the Patriot Education Fund to help U.S. military families achieve the same goal in their life. https://www.patrioteducationfund.org/ Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) - To help fund research that will lead to new treatment options that could extend the lives of multiple myeloma patients. The folks at MMRF were integral in helping our family network and explore new treatment options to help dad meet his goal of buying more time to spend with his family. https://themmrf.org/get-involved/ways-to-donate/ We would ask that all donations be made in honor of Don Slaby since we will be working with each organization to help them determine how your generous donation can be used to provide the best help to people that face the same challenges Don did over the last five years.