Posted: Tuesday, June 2, 2009 12:00 am
Jan. 17, 1926 - May 29, 2009
Don Rounds left this earth after a four-month illness.
A kind and gentle man, Don was blessed with a cheerful disposition and a big heart. He was an exceptional husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. Don accepted and welcomed people just as they were, and was a warm and gracious host. He was the kind of man who inspired people to want to be better human beings.
Don had a lot of love to give to family members and close friends. He was a wonderful, caring husband, and he made two lucky women very happy in this life: his first wife, Helen, who died of ALS; and his second wife, Jan, whom he married in 1987. Don and Helen were married for 35 years, and had two daughters, Robin and Wendy. He and Jan were married for more than 21 years. Don was Jan's Prince Charming.
He loved growing up in Ottawa, Kan., and even as a little boy, he knew he wanted to be a scientist. When he was 17, his family moved to Pasadena, Calif. He entered the U.S. Army in 1945, and was the court reporter of court-martial proceedings for a regimental headquarters at Fort Lewis, Wash.
After his discharge, he completed a bachelor's degree in 1951 at Occidental College in Eagle Rock. Calif. That same year, he and
Helen married.
Don worked at the Atomic Energy Project at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1951 to 1954. He then entered the doctoral program at UCLA, and earned a doctorate in cellular and molecular biology in 1958. After receiving that degree, he served as a postdoctoral fellow in the tissue culture laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
In 1959, Don returned to Pasadena to establish a tissue laboratory at the Pasadena Foundation for Medical Research (now the Huntington Medical Research Institutes). He was the director of that lab for more than three decades.
While there, he examined the chromosomal effects of airborne environmental toxins, as well as the cellular and molecular effects of gamma and laser energies on living human and animal cells. He was a pioneer in the study of the effects of lasers on cells; scientists from throughout the world came to study and work with him.
In addition to conducting his primary research, Don was co-founder and president of the California Chapter of the Tissue Culture Association, chairman of the Gordon Research Conference on Lasers in Medicine and Biology, and reviewing editor of In Vitro, a national journal for tissue culturists.
He was also an adjunct professor in the Department of Pathology at Loma Linda Medical School, and adjunct associate professor in the Department of Anatomy of the University of Southern California School of Medicine.
Another contribution Don made to science was that he was the first person to describe a unique structure found in cells of all living things. This structure, the proteasome, is now well known, and is included in all cell biology textbooks. It has become an extensive area of study throughout the world. He established that all cancers released this structure into the bloodstream, and therefore, it could be used to detect cancer.
He founded two startup companies to develop and commercialize a test kit for detecting cancer. The kit is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and is used for monitoring colon cancer and detecting and managing all cancers. He was awarded seven patents and one copyright, primarily dealing with novel approaches to early detection methods for cancer.
Don published more than 120 articles in scientific journals, and presented data at more than 50 United States and European conferences. He also wrote review chapters in laser handbooks and editorial reviews on newly written laser books for the journal Nature.
Don and Jan retired to Corvallis in 1995. Don would tell people that every morning for the first six months in Corvallis, he would stand on his front porch just breathing in the wonderful, fresh Oregon air. He so appreciated the beauty and grandeur of the Pacific Northwest, and the wonderful town and people of Corvallis.
Don was very active in the First Presbyterian Church, serving as a trustee, usher and member of the Fellowship Committee. He was also active in the Corvallis Newcomers Club.
For many years, he served on the council and the curriculum committee of the Academy for Lifelong Learning. Don received great enjoyment and satisfaction in procuring speakers for the science strand of ALL.
Don was an accomplished artist; he specialized in acrylics, and earned blue ribbons for his paintings at the 1997 Benton County Fair. He had a witty sense of humor, which usually took the form of puns. Though his favorite food was ice cream, Don would agree that he was the original Cookie Monster. He loved to paraphrase humorist Will Rogers by saying, "I never met a cookie I didn't like!"
He was very proud of his daughters, and took delight in the development and accomplishments of his six grandsons.
Survivors include his wife, Jan; daughters Robin Olschner and Wendy Sondergaard; sons-in-law, Tom and Rolf; grandsons, Alec, Kevin, Peter, Jens, Anders and Niels; stepsons Doug and Jim Price; stepdaughter-in-law Deborah and her son, Gabe; sister Marg Hayworth; brothers Bob and Gordon; sisters-in-law Tillie and Phyllis Rounds; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Carolyn and Norman Folkee; extended family members; and many, many friends.
Don will be remembered as a big man with a big heart. The world is less for his leaving.
A celebration of Don's life will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 27, in Education Hall at the First Presbyterian Church, 114 S.W. Eighth St.
Don's family wishes to thank publicly the personnel of Benton Hospice Service for their loving and tender care throughout Don's illness.
Donations in Don's name can be made to Benton Hospice Service, 2350 N.W. Professional Drive, Corvallis 97330.