Donald Eugene Honnas

b. April 30, 1934 Tucson, Arizona
d. August 12, 2020 Green Valley, Arizona


Donald at the ruins of his grandmother Della's milk house on the Honnas homestead in Sonoita 
Donald as a teenager in his car
photos contributed by Linda Roslund, Betty Barr

 Donald was born in Tucson, Arizona on April 30, 1934 to Cecil and Lottie Honnas, homesteaders in Sonoita, Arizona. He attended Patagonia High School and graduated from the University of Arizona in 1955, with a B.S. in Agriculture and major in Range Management, and a minor in Animal Husbandry.

 Donald's grandmother Della Eve Piercy and stepgrandfather Peter Honnas arrived in the Sonoita area in the late 1800s and over time bought homesteads around that area as they came up for sale. In December 1930, their son Cecil married Lottie Moore who was teaching at the Empire Ranch School, and Cecil and Lottie were serious ranchers; Lottie was also the mail carrier on the route to Greaterville. Cecil and Lottie had two sons, Donald and Raymond. In 1961, after Cecil and Lottie decided to retire, they bought the Pocahonnas and Las Jarillas Ranches in Arivaca for Donald and his brother who moved onto the ranches with their families. Raymond sold his share in Las Jarillas in 1962.

 In October 1955, Donald had married Carolyn Pine, a fourth generation Southern Arizonan, and they ranched Hereford cattle for 41 years on the ranch in Arivaca. They built a house near Arivaca where they raised their three children. They were active in the community: Donald was a member of the Sopori and Sahuarita School boards, and Carolyn was an EMT. They donated the land on which the First Baptist Church is built. They retired from ranching in 2001.

 Donald wrote a book of stories about ranching in Sonoita and Arivaca called "Happenings on the Pocahonnas: A Southern Arizona Cattle Ranch". (The ranch name may have come from the fact that at the U of A, Donald's nickname had been 'Poco'.) He lived simply, spoke humbly, and his dry sense of humor and teasing always endeared him to others.

 Donald eventually spent his retired years with Carolyn in Sahuarita, Arizona where they lived a quiet life. If one had asked Donald what is the one thing he wanted people to remember about him, he probably would have said that it was he had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Donald spent his life serving God's creatures - animal and human.

Written and edited by SCS from obituary published by "Arizona Daily Star" on Aug. 30, 2020; from Mary Katsulitis' September, 2020 article in "Southern Arizona Connection'; from Anecstry.com; from the Honnas Land and Cattle Company website; and from "Happenings on the Pocahonnas..."

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