JULY 3, 2015, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3 CONAT, continued from Page A1 than 20 years ago. Conat came by Anagnos’ office to visit, only to discover Anagnos was out of the office. Conat was initially disappointed and left a note about Anagnos appar- ently not working since he was out of the office. How- ever, Conat changed his tune after learning Anagnos was at a school helping youth. “He said anyone that gives time to kids is good enough for me,” Anagnos said. “That’s how our relationship got start- ed.” Among other things, Co- nat was heavily involved with Keizer Rotary and Make-A- Wish Oregon. “Don Conat was a true Oregon treasure,” said Laila Cook, CEO of Make-A-Wish Oregon. “He had a heart of gold and truly used it for good. In my opinion Don and Blanche, his wife, are respon- sible for the growth of Make- A-Wish Oregon from a small, fledgling nonprofit to the over 200 wishes each year organi- zation it has become.” Cook noted Conat opened his home to Make-A-Wish staff members, volunteers and anyone else interested in learning more about the orga- nization’s mission. “Don worked with a small group of local volunteers to host a golf tournament in sup- port of wishes and he was so proud of the local businesses who would place an advertise- ment in the tournament bro- chure, or sponsor the event,” Cook said. “Don would liter- ally cut and paste each ad in the brochure long after com- puters could do the work eas- ily. It was hard to say no to his passion for these brave kids, and I believe businesses would give beyond their budgets af- ter hearing Don’s enthusiasm.” Cook noted that enthu- siasm continued to the end, even after Conat moved to Avamere Court. “Don Conat’s impact on Make-A-Wish Oregon is im- possible to quantify, but easy to feel,” Cook said. “He was the embodiment of magic and he will be missed.” Conat, a Keizer resident for 23 years, passed after a battle with cancer. He was born in Minnesota on Feb. 28, 1924. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Blanche, in addition to sons Terry and Rick as well as daughter Linda. Conat is also survived by five grand- children and six great-grand- children. After graduating from high school in 1942, Conat joined the U.S. Navy. In a 2012 in- terview with the Keizertimes, Conat talked about being a gunner on the USS Somers destroyer during WWII. “We had another guy fig- ure out distances,” Conat said. “I just pointed it where it was supposed to go.” The USS Somers was in support capacity at the inva- sion of Normandy on the north coast of France, then was dispatched a month lat- er for an invasion along the southern coast of France. “We knew something big was happening because, at the last stop at port in Corsica, a minister was brought on board and we were told to go to ser- vice if we needed to,” Conat said in the interview. The ship had the task of leading a fleet of seven British minesweepers, which resulted in a three-hour battle with two German destroyers. Following four years of ser- vice, Conat left the U.S. Navy as a first-class petty officer and married Blanche. He went into the lumber business with his father and brother before leaving to be a baseball um- pire. “It was in SI not too long ago that he threw Lou Pi- nella out of a first game for a doubleheader,” Anagnos said. “Don was such a great guy. He had great baseball stories. It was fun to sit around the table and visit with Don.” Following the six years as an umpire, Conat worked for a California paint supplier be- fore retiring and moving to Keizer. “I never went to college so [the military] was a pretty good education,” Conat said in 2012. “I think I learned a lot about life and what a great country this is.”