Donald Leo Hastings Sr

Donald Leo Hastings Sr, of Edwardsville, IL passed at age 90 on April 3, 2021 and is survived by his spouse of 70 years Harriet “Pat” (Zoleman) Hastings.  He is also survived by seven of their eight children and their respective spouses.  They are Douglas (Katie) Hastings of Edwardsville, IL; Kathleen (Kevin) Walker of Colorado Springs, CO; Pamela (Larry) Perlmutter of St. Louis, MO; Elizabeth (Ted) Petersen of St. Louis, MO; Celeste (Gregg) Korte of Edwardsville, IL; Kimberly (Dr. Brett) Wolff of Town and Country, MO and Jennifer (Gregg) Butler of Nashville, TN.  The Hastings have 26 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren.  Don Sr. was predeceased by his eldest son, Donald Leo Hastings Jr., a grandson, Blake Hastings, by his parents, Ben & Jennie (Hoxsey) Hastings, and his sister Mary Ann (Norris) Ambuel.

Mr. Hastings was born January 31, 1931 in Alhambra, IL, the son of the late Ben and Jennie (Hoxsey) Hastings.  He moved to Edwardsville, IL in 1941 and was a parishioner at St. Boniface Catholic Church.  Pat was visiting her cousin in Alhambra when they met.  A year later they eloped to Arkansas and married on August 10, 1950.  They had 70 wonderful years together.

In 1962 he was hired by the State of Illinois Division of Natural Resources Law Enforcement as a wildlife officer. Over the years he advanced through the ranks to Captain.  Twice he was named as head of the Division for 100 officers.  Among his DNR accomplishments was the establishment and leadership of a new covert investigation unit for which he was Chief Investigator.  He also formed and participated in a new aerial night surveillance to eliminate illegal poaching.  Mr. Hastings retired as a wildlife officer in 1987.

With the help of his family, he engaged in several business ventures including the building and operating the first mini-warehouse in the Glen/Ed area. With his wife, he founded and was publisher/editor of the International Game Warden magazine which is still in publication today with over 4,500 subscribers worldwide.  While publishing the magazine, he and Pat traveled extensively to all 50 states and Provinces of Canada and 12 other countries in search of features for the magazine. As a hobby, Mr. Hastings enjoyed writing and telling stories of past phases of his long life.  He published several short story books and has hundreds of Facebook followers dedicated to his storytelling.  His memory was long and vivid, and his voice will be missed by many.