I always had lots of respect for him. If you wanted a well thought out opinion, ask Don. Every time I talked to him, I learned something. A serious observer of life, he knew about more things than anybody.
Jim Krausmann

I first met Don in August of 1979: it was early morning at the New Hope Car Show held the second Saturday of August. In those days there was a special Letter Series class….about 6-8 letter cars would routinely come. I met PJ Ehmann and Terry McTaggert along with Don the same day. I had just completed my bachelor’s degree and am guesstimating that I was 21 or so.
Don pulled up in his 300L and here is what I very specifically and vividly remember: he opened the drivers door and before setting foot on grass immediately slipped a pair of “rubbers” (galoshes) over his shoes to address the wet grass! That was followed by setting the windows to the height desired. The car - a spectacular shade of silver tinted pink - needed nothing and looked like new….because it basically was new.
About 6 years later - I want to say 1985 or so - my friend Ron (who’s L I owned by then) took me to visit Don at his family home in Northern New Jersey. What a trip and what a man: the home - he shared with his mother and sister- was perfectly kept. He had engineered automatic garage door openers backward so that they actually pushed open a set of ancient carriage style doors the immense frame garage behind the house. We toured his collection housed in various single garages around the neighborhood, all perfectly kept: his L, his fathers car, his dark green Imperial sedan, his F coupe, and his late model Seville and his sisters Eldorado.
Most dramatic was the cellar of his home: floor to ceiling shelving with every nos part you’d ever want for an L….. you might have been able to build an L with parts he possessed.
Most importantly was and is - is that he was a real gentleman, friendly, meticulous, fanatically neat, and just an all round nice guy.
I’m SO GLAD I was able to see him again at Hershey in May. To me he was an ICONIC 300 ambassador of all things and especially L related. His L deserves to be enshrined somewhere fitting.
Respectfully,
Hank Hallowell

A great guy, always fun at Meets and very helpful to me as Meet Director. And as a "L" owner of 46 years, he was a fountain of knowledge. He will definitely be missed.
Ray Jones

We are so sorry to hear of Don’s passing. He was always good company, and served the club so well. You don’t realize some things until you are forced to but I now realize that I knew Don for over 30 years.
Pete & Anne Fitch

He was such a kind and good guy, always there. His passing reminds me of Jerry Kocur, another good guy. Both will be missed a lot
John Grady

We first met Don at the Irwin PA meet in 1972. He reminisced about that meet for the next 51 years, the last meet being the Hershey meet this past spring. Don drove his L, which he bought new, to Irwin and other meets. He kept it in immaculate, like-new condition and never ever subjected it to a carwash, but only gently handwashing it. Over the years he enjoyed his “300 family” as he called the club. He was first a club treasurer and then a club president. He was our unofficial club historian and produced the video of our first 25 years. Lastly he was our web guy and formulated what it looks like today.
His passing leaves a huge profound loss in our 300 family.
A&G Moon

Don always impressed me as a gentle soft spoken individual who was always engaging, friendly and respectful. I remember fondly having breakfast with him, one time, while he spun stories about the history of this fine Club.
Tony Rinaldi

In the 25 years or so I knew Don from attending meets, I don't think I ever saw him in a bad mood. He'd come up and start talking and always started the conversation as if he had some latest and greatest information he could hardly contain any longer. It was always great to know he was going to attend, especially when he and Jerry Kocur were in attendance together. I'm sure the two of them are together again telling stories.
Don, you will be missed.
Brian Frank

Carla and I were very saddened to hear the news about Don. Due to (regrettably) not attending meets for the first 30 or so years or my club membership, I actually did not meet Don in person until the St. Louis meet in 2013. He and his late sister Judith were wonderful folks. Don was sharp as a tack, and both witty and wise. We worked together for awhile when I was involved with the Club’s Electronic Communication Committee. Don was a fan of both 300s and Imperials, and owned both marques, as did I. I last dined with Don at the 2021 Auburn Hills meet, where I discovered that he was a pipe organ music fan. We both enjoyed the “concert” provided by the young fella at the Stahl’s Museum.
Carl Bilter

We only knew Don for 2 or 3 years but will say that it was always a joy to see, and speak with him. We had called him a couple months ago to check in and we had been wondering the past few days how he was doing… dang it… truly a loss to the club and the whole community to lose him.
At the Spring Hershey meet, Don gifted a hand-made placard, greatly improving the “Kia” car logo into Kya’s name (pictured)- he hand cut the wood and hand drew the logo. It was a sweet and special moment. We will greatly miss his sense of intelligent humor, curiosity, kindness, and care.
Fair winds and following seas, green lights and open roads Don Warnaar-
Dave & Kya Mason

Sad news, Don was a great guy. I was lucky to have spent time with him at the Hershey and Greenville meets as I drove him to some of the events and had lunch together. He will be missed.
Mike Falcone

He looked healthy when I saw him at Hershey. He still laughed at my feeble jokes and was polite enough not to tell me I had told him that joke 45 minutes before.
Don is in my prayers.
Paul DelGrande

Sad news. I'll always remember his kindness and when he and his sister Judith visited us in SoCal. Godspeed Don.
John Lazenby

So sorry to hear that. He was a great guy.
RIP Don.
Bob Haag

Don Warnaar was such a fine Christian gentleman. This is a great loss to our club. I was glad to read the many accolades from other club members on the list server.
I pray that he is reunited with his loving sister Judith and his great friend Jerry Kocur and I hope that he is safely wrapped in the loving arms of his savior.
With A Heavy Heart
Bill Elder

It's really sad hearing about Don. I was lucky enough to spend some time with him at the Spring meet. He was always fun to be around, and his intelligence and wit were second to none. I will really miss him.
Don Verity

I hate to hear about Don’s passing. He was a great guy and an asset to the 300 community. He was always eager to share his knowledge with us. Prayers to his family during this time.
Scott Taylor

So sad to hear. Don was a good friend, and I'll miss him. Words fail me right now.
Bill Codner

I am sad to learn of Don Warnaar’s passing. He was a true gentleman and friend. Always a positive fellow and quick to show appreciation for whatever a club member did in support of fellow members. He will be missed!
Marnie and Rob Kern

I’ve thought about Don a lot these last few days. What I remember most about him is that he was a gentle man—a gentleman. He was soft spoken, a careful listener, interested in other people. I recall that he bore up well when he was club president and George wasn’t. He and I played word games and enjoyed them. Farewell.
Doug Mayer

Don was very friendly, truly knowledgeable on our cars. I picture Don with his hat and windbreaker guiding us into our last meet. He will be missed indeed.
Dave Dumais

I first joined the club in the late ‘70’s along with my father Adolph. I remember how welcoming he was to us at our first meet. It always felt like we knew him forever. He always was a wealth of information. I’m glad my son and I were able to have a long conversation with Don at the BMW museum at our SC meet. He remembered that Eleanor announced the birth of my son at our meet in 1985. He will be missed by all.
John, John Michael and Joan Rebolj

Send your thoughts and photos to bob@simplexco.com and I'll post them.