Donald W. Somers

Donald W. Somers (1935-2021)

Don was in a memoirs writing group before his passing – below are some of his thoughts about his life.

In his music room today, every banjo sits silently waiting…strings wrapped tightly in black ribbon to completely mute their mourning tones. Their owner, Donald W. Somers, died May 24, 2021, and will never play them again. The music he regularly coaxed from them may now be silenced but will reverberate forever in the hearts of all who knew and loved him.

Don was born September 5, 1935, in Hartwick, Iowa, but his family soon relocated to Lake City, Iowa in the north-central part of the state, where he lived from age two through college. He grew up as a member of a large family of siblings, including three older brothers, Dick, Leonard and Bill, and three sisters, Francis Alice, Rena, and Doris (whom he teasingly called Nadine when he wanted to stir her up!). Being the youngest of the brood, he grew up mainly with sister Doris, who was only four years older than he. They all preceded him in death as did his father (Milo) Clyde Somers, mother Bessie Leona (Smith) Somers, and step-father Walter Sherer.

Don attended Iowa State University, graduating in 1958 with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Journalism. Jobs were scarce in 1958 so he accepted a job on the Hampton, Iowa Times and Chronicle as an advertising sales rep until a better job could come along. It did a few months later in the form of an offer from the Wayne Feeds Division of Allied Mills, Inc. in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He then served as the regional advertising manager for Wayne the next four years. However, while in college he had had an internship at Klau Van Pietersom Dunlap Advertising Agency in Milwaukee between his junior and senior years. One of his contacts there had subsequently transitioned to another prestigious Milwaukee agency, The Brady Company, and reached out in 1963 to offer Don a job as a copywriter where he would specialize in agriculture-related commercial clients. Don quickly accepted and worked for Brady for the next 38 years, rising from Copywriter to Copy Supervisor to Creative Director to Senior Vice President and member of the agency’s board of directors. He retired in 1996 and relocated to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he happily lived until his death.

Don’s family was always very important to him. His first marriage to Sandra Lee resulted in two sons, Donald Jeffrey (wife Deborah and grandsons Danny and Josef) of Anchorage, Alaska, and Timothy (wife Susan “Sam” MacLean and grandson Brett and wife Erin of Shorewood, Wisconsin and granddaughter Kaitlyn and wife Rachel of Zurich, Switzerland), and daughter Sara Elizabeth (Somers) Perlberg (husband Edward Perlberg) of Vallejo, California. Don was also blessed with great-grandchildren Clyde and Addie of Shorewood and Finley and Ruby of Zurich.

Don’s second marriage to Linda Roemer included step-daughters Kate and Kim and step-sons Mark and Kurt. It was during these years that his love for the banjo took root.

Don was most recently married to Sylvia Maiuri. Don and Sylvia met at a Unitarian singles camp in 1993 and were married in 1996. His extended family included step-sons Luke (wife Jill and grandchildren Madison, Abigail, and Joseph) of Noblesville, Indiana and Josh (wife Jenni and grandchildren Sophie and Charlie) of Brownsburg, Indiana. With Sylvia’s guiding influence as a professional pianist, the importance of music intensified in his life. They enjoyed classical music and attended many concerts together. They also shared a love of jazz and likewise attended many performances over the years.

Don said that music had always been an important part of his life, first singing before an “audience” during a kindergarten program. He long remembered his stage fright during the performance. Along the way he took piano lessons for a short time and played cornet in the junior and senior high school bands. He also sang in the high school chorus and in various church choirs over the years.

But, it wasn’t until he fell in love with the banjo that music became an integral part of his very being. Known as Donbanjo to his musical friends and internet acquaintances, Don first picked up the banjo in 1978, when he was in his early 40s. He made up for the lost years of not picking banjo by playing it for many hours each week, sometimes each day. He traveled extensively to learn from banjo impresarios, attended banjo camps to meet new friends and help improve his musical knowledge and skills, and jammed with friends whenever possible. It was during his latter years that Don enjoyed jamming old time fiddle tunes with friends in Bloomington, Indiana at a weekly jam session called Monday Night Music. This continued for many years.

Don shared his love of the banjo with everyone who cared to listen, which was most friends and family. He particularly inspired his grandson Brett and granddaughter Kaitlyn…they shared weekly video banjo lessons for many years and the three of them played together for the first time at Kaitlyn’s marriage to Rachel in 2016. Brett, Kaitlyn, and Tim even sport banjo tattoos in his honor!

There will be a memorial service at 1:30pm on Sunday, July 11, 2021 at Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis, 615 W. 43rd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208. You can be sure that banjo music will be played there when his grandchildren and friends remove the black ribbons of mourning from his banjos and bring his music and spirit back to life. After all, banjo music is happy music and it always made Don happy to both hear and play it. He wants others to feel happy at this time, too.