Donald Lollar Weinacht

Beloved son, brother, uncle and nephew, Don was born on May 4, 1952 in Clearfield UT and died of AIDS complications on October 4, 2006 in Denver. Don was the second oldest of six children born to Bill and Helena (Kandt) Weinacht. He was preceded in death by his adored grandmother Esther Kandt and grandfather Raymond Kandt, and his father Bill Weinacht. Don will be forever lovingly remembered by his mother, Helena Kandt Chambers, and step-father Dr. Duncan Chambers, of Puyallup WA. He will live always in the loving hearts of his siblings: Gary (Margaret) Weinacht, Dunoon, Scotland; William Weinacht and Jeffrey Weinacht, Denver CO: Anne (Dan) Elkins, Denver CO; and Randy (Dawn) Weinacht, Billings MT. Don also leaves dear nephews, Andrew and Simon Elkins, and nieces, Jessica and Megan Weinacht, and Gary's beautiful family in Scotland. Don's Kandt uncles and aunts will miss his wit and charm; he will be especially missed ! by hi s darling Aun t Donna Fogel. Don will be deeply mourned by his dear and caring partner, John Kelley. After graduating from Denver Lutheran High School in 1970, Don and his brother Gary hitchhiked to Los Angeles for new adventures. Shortly after arrival, Don met several dancers from "Disney On Parade." He studied dancing and acting, was hired by Disney as a dancer, and spent the next four years traveling with "Disney On Parade" to major cities in North, Central and South America. After two years, he was appointed Dance Captain. In 1975, Disney sent Don to Europe to explore the possibility of staging shows there. Disney felt the political climate was too uncertain so, since he had interviewed possible performers, Don decided to form his own dance company based in France. For the next fifteen years, "Les Ziegfeld" performed in major cities of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and appeared numerous times on European television. Don choreographed his shows and designed costumes and sets. As he became more we! ll-kn own, he was a sked to choreograph shows for performers such as Simone Signoret, Yves Montaud and Jose Carreras. When Don disbanded his company, he moved to Munich and, in part because of his fluency in five languages, was hired as Assistant Director of Security for the Munich airport. After eight interesting years, he returned to Denver, where he lived until his death. Don always considered Paris his "real" home, however, and was never happier than when playing tour guide in France, Germany, Italy and Spain for family members and friends. Don Weinacht died after 24 courageous years living with HIV/AIDS, and took part in studies researching his longevity. His family was very proud of Don's willingness to serve as a guinea pig for untested new AIDS drugs, some of which made him quite ill. Because of Don's cheerful ability to rise above his disease, especially in the past two years, his family requests that memorials in his name be made to AIDS foundations, hospices or organizations in the donors' home communities. No services will be held. A celebration of Don's amazing life will be held at a future date for family and friends. He will be cremated and has requested that his ashes be scattered on Aunt Donna's ranch near Silt CO, and in Paris, home of his heart. Goodnight, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. Please share your memory of Donald by clicking on the "Sign Guestbook" button below.