Don Heenan

So how do you try to write about Don a man who made an art of putting pen to paper?
I am fortunate to be able to call Don my friend and mentor. I learned so much from him in my early days at CTT and that leaning continued time after time when we would meet in Williamstown.
Don was the definition of a gentleman and a scholar he has left so many of us who knew him with a big hole in our hearts.
A life well lived.
Rest in Peace
Karl Gertie Erin Lorna-CA

Deepest sympathy on the sad loss of Don. May he rest in peace

I was so saddened to hear of the passing of Don. He was such a gentleman and such an integral part of the community. Don will be sadly missed by so many people. My heartfelt sympathies to Phil and his family. May be rest in peace.

Deepest Sympathy to Phil and family on Don's sad passing. One of life's true gentlemen.May he Rest in Peace.

It is impossible to put into words how sad we all are to hear of Don’s passing. He was a wonderful uncle and a very special person. We have a lifetime of lovely memories of times spent with both Phil and Don and these are uppermost in our minds as we come to terms with this news. Our hearts go out to you Phil. We are thinking of you and send you all our love.

We are so sorry to hear about the sad passing of Don, condolences to Phil and the family.

May he rest in peace.

Phil..we were so sorry to hear the awful news..please take care..we will be thinking of you in our prayers..all our love Pat&Janxx 1st Cor,15:12-14.

Dear Phil, sincere sympathy on the death of your beloved Don. What a sad loss this is for you, for the Heenan family and for all of us in Rathvilly and in Don’s wider orbit. I can’t believe that we will never again enjoy happy, fun evenings filled with his repartee, empathy and his broad well of knowledge on topics familiar and obscure. This sudden loss saddens me deeply and I wish you strength in your grief and in the months to come. The consolation is the bank of memories of a great life lived and enjoyed, of engaging discussions, witty tales, epicurean delights, and visits to your home in Williamstown a veritable seat of hospitality and warm welcome. These memories go back decades to the time when Don first came to Rathvilly and cut a dash with his stylish outfits, his snuff and his sparkling conversation, his kindness, his great sense of humour and his appreciation of a pint well-pulled. I fondly recall his visits to Zürich and to Ballyrahen and more recent times with debates, exotic fowl, prize-winning stock and success with crosswords submitted under the pseudonym of his dog! Don will not be forgotten and we will cherish his memory and the significant impact that he has made on our lives.
With our warmest regards and deepest sympathy
Pat and family

Our deepest condolences to Phil and the Heenan family on Don's passing.
Don was a very talented and unique man who played a major role in the Rathvilly/Fourchambault twinning project. I have no doubt that without Don's advice and support in the preparation for the first visit of the Fourchambault delegation to Rathvilly, including the supplying of organic lamb for the lunch, (which was cooked by yourself Phil,) went down a storm, the twinning might never have happened. Once again i would like to sympathise with you Phil and pray that his gentle soul may rest in peace.

Very sorry to have heard this sad news.Thoughts and prayers are with Phil at this difficult time. May Don rest in peace.

I have the greatest admiration for Don who could always recount a story for evey occasion, be it good or bad. A man who could always find the words for every situation. Unfortunately I can only admire him as at present, words fail me. I can only thank you Phil and Don, for all the welcomes you have given my family and I over the years and the long evenings in front of the fire discussing the worlds problems. Please accept my heartfelt condolences, my thoughts are with you Phil and family, take care.

Condolences to you Phil on the sad passing of Don.

It’s very hard to imagine a world without Uncle Don in it. We picture him there at home with you Phil, feeding the animals, sitting by the fire or holding court at the table. His humour, intelligence and kindness won’t be forgotten. Our hearts go out to you Phil and we are thinking of you.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you Phil at this difficult time

Deepest Sympathy to Phil and family on the sad passing of Don. May he Rest in Peace

So sorry to hear about the sudden passing of Don. Having met him on a few occasions I was so impressed by his helpfulness, hospitality and courtesy. Sincere condolences to Philomena and all the family.

My heartfelt condolences Phil on the passing of your husband Don.
The wonderful memories I have of times spent with you both I really cherish.
Donald was the biggest character I’ve ever known, the stories he told and the fun he brought, literally to the table, was second to none. It was always a pleasure and an adventure to stay with you and that day with those peacocks!

God bless you, with much love Di xx

It is rare that you would meet a more accomplished, learned, intelligent, engaging and humours man, but even more rare that you would meet such a man with the humility of Don Heenan. For these reasons Don was a truly unique character. His death will leave a gap in anyones life who was lucky enough to have known him, but nothing like the loss he is to his dear wife and rock of support Phil, who was always by his side, supporting him to be the man wè all admired. Our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to Phil, the light that helped Don to always shine.

Phil, we are so sorry to hear of Dons sudden passing, our thoughts and prayers are with you at this very difficult time. May Don rest in peace.

Dear Phil - so very sad to hear about Don, such a huge loss for you and all who knew and loved him. A wonderful colleague and friend in my CTT days and kindness personified. A most original thinker and utter gentleman and always his laughter not far away. He will be greatly missed. My sincere condolences.

The number of tributes to Don shown here are testament to the love and regard that he generated, He was a true "one-off" who left an indelible mark on all who knew him. Our love and sympathy go out to Phil and all Don's family. R.I.P. old friend

Deepest Sympathy to Phil on the Sad Passing of Don.May he Rest in Peace

Deepest Sympathy to Phil on the Passing of Don.Rip

Phil, deepest sympathy, so shocked to here of Don’ s sudden death. You must be devestated , but all the good memories will sustain you.
I was lucky to work with Don in the design section of CTT , he taught me a lot , & we all had such fun!

‘One of the good guys has gone’
Helen

We are so saddened to hear of Dons unexpected bereavement.He was a lovely neighbour,and someone we respected greatly.Our thoughts and prayers are with you Phil at this difficult time.May Don rest in peace.

Heartfelt sympathy to Phil on the sudden passing of Don.He was a lovely man.May he rest in peace.

Phil our deepest sympathy the passing of Don. He was a gentleman and a one of kind character.

I have extremely fond memories of Don over the years rooted in his generosity, kindness and sense of fun.

He will be sadly missed.

Deepest condolences to you, Phil, on the sudden passing of Don. Don will be remembered as an eloquent gentleman, with a smile for everyone. Both of you were very generous with your time in supporting the promotion of debating in Rathvilly. Your enthusiasm and positivity will always be remembered.
May Don rest in peace and may your memories sustain you in the times ahead.

Sincere sympathy to Phil and the Heenan family on the sudden death of Don. A very intelligent man. A great community man. I remember him from the many table quizzes he supported in the parish of Rathvilly. A true gentleman. May you have great memories Phil to comfort you. May Don rest in peace.

Condolences to Phil on your loss. We both worked at Córas Tráchtála in the 1980s and while sadly I had little direct cause to work closely with Don he was one of the characters that I admired. A true gentleman.

Condolences to Phil on her sad loss. Don was a gentle man and an interesting character and our friend Tim O'Hanlon and i enjoyed our visits to Don in Rathvilly. May God be kind to his gentle soul and give Phil and all those he left behind the strength to carry their sad loss.

So very sorry Phil.
Comes as a shock. Such a lovely gentleman in every sense and its been an absolute pleasure to work with you both. Never lost for words which were always eloquent. A very good man whom has left an impression.
Never will he be forgotten

Deepest sympathy to Phil and family on Don’s sad and untimely passing you are in our thoughts and prayers at this time. We enjoyed a chat with Don last week. May he rest in peace.

I worked with Don is the CTT Design Section for a short while in the mid 1980's. I have carried his advice and guidance with me ever since. He was a fantastic person. May he rest in peace.

Our deepest condolences on sad passing of Don a lovely person may don rest in peace

Phil, sincere condolences on the sudden passing of Don. I have fond memories of Don coming into Brophy Agri for bags of wheat and his beautiful handwritten cheques.

Wishing you the courage to face the days ahead.

My dearest Phil, and all of the Heenan family, l send you my love and deepest condolences on the passing of Don. I will treasure his friendship and remember with great fondness the conversations and great times we all spent together. Mary

Deepest sympathy to Phil and the Heenan family on the sad and sudden loss of Don, Rest in Peace.

Thinking of you at this sad and difficult time. Forever in my thoughts and prayers.

Phil my condolences to you and all your extended family on the passing of Don may you find comfort in your found memories of one of life’s gentlemen may he rest in peace.

Very sorry to hear of Don's passing, a true gentleman, thinking of his family and friends at this sad time. RIP Don

Phil, we are so sorry to hear of your beloved husband’s passing . Don was always so giving with his time and wisdom and always a joy to meet. May Don rest in peace.

Sincere condolences to you Phil and to all the Heenan family and friends on the sudden passing of Don. He was a true gentleman and will be greatly missed.

Phil my deepest sympathy on the passing of Don. He was a true gentleman who always had a word of wisdom to pass on.

So sorry Phil to hear of the death of your lovely husband. Deepest sympathy. Enda

Sincere condolences Phil on the passing of Don. Thinking of you at this very sad time. May Don rest in peace.

So sorry to hear of the sudden passing of Don our sincere condolences to you Phil may he rest in peace

So sorry to hear of Don’s sudden passing, we wish to express our sincere sympathy to Phil and family.

Deepest sympathy to Phil on the sudden passing of Don. I got to know Don when he came into Super Valu. He was such a lovely gentleman & always had a good sense of humour. Thinking of you Phil at this sad time. Rip Don

Our heartfelt sympathy on Dons passing, great memories of Don & Robert growing up. lovely to be a part of his 80th birthday celebration. Great mind' great empathy. May his gentle soul Rest in Peace.

We are so sad to hear of ‘Uncle Donald’s’ passing. He was the epitome of a true gentleman, a kind man and his speech at Vi’s funeral (his mother) has always stayed with me, his words were like poetry. Our thoughts are with all his family - Phil, Aunty Cal, Steven & Simon. Xx

We are so sorry to hear about the sad passing of Don, condolences to Phil and the family. May he rest in peace.

Phil our deepest sympathy on the passing of Don. He was a true gentleman. Our thoughts are with you.

Dear Phil, our heartfelt condolences to you on Don's sudden passing. I have wonderful memories of times spent in Don's entertaining and always enlightening company, from he's visites on holidays when I was a child, enjoying his singing of Welsh songs, to when he was kind enough to give me and sometimes my friends lifts back to Dublin early on a Monday morning, collecting and dropping us off which would be taking him out of his way. I'm so glad I had a chat with him and got one of his hugs a couple of days before he passed. You are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time Phil. Rest in peace Don.

Our sincere sympathy to you dearest Phil, the Heenan family and friends, on Don's sudden death. It was with the greatest regret and sadness, we received the news. It was our great privilege to know Don and share over 45 years of friendship with him and Phil. Don was brilliant, inspirational and radical, as only he could be. He opened new windows for us, on a fresh new world - on the poetry of life. Windows, which will never be closed, as long as we live. His, was a world of courage, conviction, wicked wit, words, debate, nature, humanity and love - though of course, he’d never admit it. He was full of fun, generosity, sociability, great company and compassion for every living thing, He wore his Welshness proudly and especially his Shropshireness.The world doesn’t know what it’s lost. May he rest in peace.

Our deepest sympathy Phil on your sad loss, may Don rest in peace.

So sad and shocked to hear of Dons sudden death he will be greatly missed by all who knew him a lovely kind gentleman my his gentle soul rest in peace. Condolences to Phil and all his family at this sad time

So very sorry to hear the sad news of Don's passing, to Phil and extended Family we offer our sincere condolences. Rest in Peace Don.

We are so sorry to hear of Don's passing and our deepest sympathies go to you and your family.

Deepest sympathy to Phil and the Heenan family on the passing of Don R.I.P.

Very sorry to hear of Dons passing. Deepest sympathy to Phil and the extended family. May his gentle soul Rest in Peace