Donald "Don" Ray Papendorf

Donald "Don" Ray Papendorf, age 78, of Grapevine, Texas, joined his Abba Father on June 21, 2026, surrounded by his loving family.

Don was born on April 26,1948, and was the son of Edmond and Dora. He grew up humbly on a farm in a Marlin, TX, and he played the French horn throughout high school. Life then took him into the service of our country with the Navy, serving during Vietnam. After completing his service, he returned to the great state of Texas and pursued further education. He graduated with honors for computer programming. He would tell you that God instructed him how to write computer code and he took that instruction into banking software, until he retired.

On January 5, 1985, Don married the love of his life, Linda Sue Jiles of Arlington, Texas. Together, they shared 40 beautiful years of marriage, building a life rooted in Christ’s love.

Don’s greatest joy in life was his family. He was an incredibly devoted father to his children, Ashley Helm (spouse Shane), Joshua Papendorf, (spouse Julie), Anna Schnack (spouse Erik), and Eva Brawley (spouse Bryson). Don was a proud grandfather to his 11 grandchildren: Macy, Molly, Mia, Madeline, Mara, Peter, Pax, Ronen, Lane, Sawyer, and Harper. They will forever cherish his stories and faith in God.

Don’s faith in His Heavenly Father molded everything he did on earth. He never lost his faith even in trials and tribulations, and he always continued to pray for everyone. He was an avid story teller and could make you laugh with his warming chuckle. He made sure you knew you were cherished. Don was also proud of his German heritage. We can all learn from Don’s continuous faith and may he enjoy his eternal reward.

In true Donnie fashion, there will not be a service to morn, but rather he would ask you to go out and spread the good news of Jesus Christ in remembrance of him. “The future means we will see all of our family in Heaven with our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Ja, das ist gut!”

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to the Wounded Project (refer to the link below) or the Living Word Lutheran Church at https://lwlc.com