Obituary of Donald B. Cameron

Donald Bogart Cameron, obituary

On January 14, 2024, Donald Bogart Cameron, loving husband, father, and grandfather, passed away at age 94. 

Donald was born in Detroit, Michigan on July 22, 1929, to Donald Clough Cameron and Helene Bogart Cameron. When he was a young child, his parents divorced and he moved to New York City with his mother and new stepfather.

In 1947 Donald graduated from Collegiate School in New York City, and in 1951 from Columbia University with a degree in journalism. Shortly after college graduation he entered the army to serve in the Korean War. Because he had studied the Russian language in college, he was assigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps and spent both years of his military service in Austria investigating allegations of Soviet espionage. During this time, completely unrelated to military service, Donald was shot and almost died—a formative event in his life that he always interpreted as a divine “wake-up call.” 

After his military service, after returning home to New York City, Donald met Jutta Gottheil, who had recently emigrated from Germany. They married in 1955 and remained together until Jutta’s death in September of 2022. They were married for 67 years. 

Donald was a man of both profound erudition and deep religious faith. While he spent his professional life as an account executive at various public relations firms, he devoted much of his spare time to deep reading of historical and theological texts in a variety of languages, both living and extinct (including Esperanto and Egyptian hieroglyphs). In particular, Donald was deeply influenced by the poetical writings of John Donne, Edmund Spenser, and John Milton, and the theological writings of John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and Martin Luther—as well as Eastern Orthodox writings of the Philokalia. Those who engaged Donald in any of these subjects never failed to be amazed at his exhaustive knowledge. 

Despite such a sharp intellect, Donald wore his learning lightly. He was humble and self-effacing, a man of wit and humor who never lost his child-like sense of wonder and curiosity. 

Donald served as an "elder" in two churches in Long Island and Forest Hills, Queens, since 2001. He was well-loved by both congregations and admired for his Christ-like example and for the way he loved people. Don brought together “head and heart” in his service to the church. 

Donald is survived by his daughter Janet, his son-in-law Mark LaFlaur, his sons Andrew and David, his daughter-in-law Roberta Cameron, and his grandchildren Marigold, Helena, and Wesley Cameron. 

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 20 at the Fox Funeral Home, 9807 Ascan Ave, in Forest Hills. Visitation will be from 11am to 12:30pm, followed by a short service at 12:30pm. Guests are all invited to a reception next door to the funeral home at My Kitchen, 106-17 Metropolitan Ave, Forest Hills. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to Doctors Without Borders and Habitat for Humanity.