Donald S. Jewell - Obituary

onald Jewell 1930-2023 Don Jewell passed away on October 1st, among his family and friends. He was 93,and he spent those 93 years living life as fully as it can be lived-a man who made an enormous footprint,and leaves behind a hole that can never be filled. He was a horseman, a skier, a golfer, a pool player, a musician , a sailor and a storyteller. He was a husband , a father, a grandfather, a counselor and a friend. Don grew up as a child of the Depression, spending his childhood in a cold-water flat in 1930’s Washington. His father was a cab driver, and his mother wrapped gifts at a Woodward and Lothrop. His uncle, who Don adored, ran a parking concession at one of Baltimore’s best restaurants. The future Dr. Jewell, Ph.D, spent his school years at race tracks, pool rooms and boxing gyms. He toyed with becoming a professional boxer. He played guitar with musicians like Roy Clark, Jimmy Dean and a young Patsy Cline. He even spent some time in a rodeo. A stint driving a delivery truck convinced him that a college degree might be a good idea, and even though his high school teachers thought he wasn’t good for anything more than shop class he enrolled at University of Maryland-at first hitchhiking his way to College Park every morning. After Maryland came the Air Force , and finally a doctorate from the University of Denver. Coming back to D.C., Don was one of the first practicing Clinical Psychologists in the city, working first for the Bureau of Mental Health, then the Pastoral Institute, and by the late 60’s with a thriving practice on Connecticut Avenue. In addition, he was active in political life, meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; offering advice to President Johnson ; and having his office bugged by President Nixon. Don loved his work, and was brilliant at helping his patients. He was still seeing patients just weeks before his death. Professional success was only part of the story. Don loved family,and was determined to give his sons- Cliff, Stuart and Rob- the sort of idyllic country childhood he’d dreamed of while hanging out in pool rooms as a boy. He built a farm in Broad Run, Virginia complete with barn, horses and a river to play in. And every summer he spent a month sailing the Chesapeake with them on his Sailboat, “The Beagle.” And Don was a man of many enthusiasms. He was an avid reader of all literature, but especially loved Mark Twain’s writings and delighted in Cliff’s Twain portrayals. He was a natural athlete and enjoyed most any sport. He was fascinated by history and loved to explore antiques of all types. He especially loved horses- whether they were for him and Kris to ride around the farm, or whether he was training them the racetrack. In his youth, he was an exercise rider at the track, and in his adulthood, competed in point-to-point races and dressage shows in Middleburg, Va. He was every bit at home in the paddock as he was in his Connecticut Avenue office. Don loved hosting friends and family. The extended family’s annual Thanksgiving was a sacred event, and he and Kris hosted a legendary Kentucky Derby party for decades. But he most loved the late part of the party, when many guests had left, and his sons would pick up guitars and play. And he loved the quiet times: relaxing with a book, watching a ballgame, or dining out at a favorite restaurant with Kris. Don is predeceased by his granddaughter Claudia Jewell; his son Stuart Jewell; and the mother of his sons Carolyn Jewell. He is survived by his wife Kristina Jewell, his son Cliff Jewell(Teresa), Janice Jewell( wife of Stuart), son Robert Jewell, and granddaughter Olivia Jewell. Don was a self-made man who enjoyed every step along the way. In boxing terms, he went the distance - but if there were a sixteenth round, he’d be in there still.