Donald Ernest Walraven Jr.

An Obituary for Donald Ernest Walraven, Jr., a Cherished Son, Brother and Uncle

It is with profound love and sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Donald Ernest Walraven, Jr., better known as, Dee, to his family and friends. Dee went to be with the Lord Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Austin, Texas, at the age of 51. In his last moments he was surrounded by family who loved him deeply. Though words cannot capture the depth of our grief, we wish to celebrate his remarkable life and the joy he brought to all who knew him.

Dee was lovingly welcomed into a big, beautiful family on June 7, 1974, in Fort Worth, Texas. He is the youngest son and fifth of six children of Mr. & Mrs. Donald and Evelyn Walraven.

Dee graduated from O.D. Wyatt High School in Fort Worth, Texas where he bucked family tradition by becoming the only Walraven sibling to not graduate from Arlington Heights High School. At O.D. Wyatt, Dee was the History Wizard on the school's Whiz-Quiz Debate Team. He helped them take first place in Debate Dee’s first year on the team. Around the same time, Dee’s ferocious love of reading, drawing and visual arts was masterfully combined in the medium of Comic Books. This lifelong love of Comic Books spurred his devoted hobby of collecting literally thousands of Comic Books housed in his collection. If you wanted to know a fact about any comic, character, story line, shift in character designs or worth of a specific comic book print, Dee was the man to ask.

After high school Dee attended Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History. World history was Dee's greatest passion and he had an unmatched talent for making history come to life. He also had an uncanny ability to weave his history knowledge into current events. His vast historical understanding and intellect were truly inspiring. We would be hard pressed to find anyone who knew more than Dee on the subject of history. We distinguished him as something of a “Master Communicator” of that realm and anyone lucky enough to listen, no doubt walked away both impressed and enlightened.

Upon graduation from Texas State University, Dee selflessly served a two-year mission in the Ventura, California, Spanish Speaking Mission for: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. While on his mission Dee was called as a Branch President where he blessed countless lives through his unequaled kindness, compassion and service. Nothing brought Dee more joy and fulfillment than his testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel, which is something he continues to cherish.

Once Dee completed his mission, he returned to Texas, settling in Austin, where he began a 25-year career in the Semiconductor Industry. Dee stayed employed with the “same” company that started as Advanced Mirco Devices then passed through many phases and changes. His longevity made himself something of a legend, through all the transitions of AMD to FASL in partnership with Fujitsu, that ultimately spun off as the independent company, Spansion. Spansion then merged with Cypress and then was bought by Infineion Technologies. As his final position he served as the Infineion Technologies Senior Shift Supervisor over Implant and Diffusion Modules. Dee was very proud of the team he built and managed. He achieved accolades and success throughout his entire career for his duties that sound like a foreign language to read, which feels very befitting of him.

Dee loved movies, reading, painting, learning, model building and collecting, friendships, family, Our Savior and Redeemer, and was a beautiful kind soul that will be deeply missed. We are all better people for having known and loved Dee and we are honored to celebrate his wonderful life.

Dee is survived by his father Donald Ernest Walraven Sr., his brothers David and Ty Walraven and his sisters, Don Walraven Dolin, Gens Walraven Johnson, and June (Junie) Walraven Molnoskey. Dee is preceded in death by his mother Evelyn Walraven.