Dr. Don Ray Waldron of Blacksburg passed away Wednesday, April 8, 2025. He was 78 years old.
Don was born in Tampa, Florida, and raised in Miami, where he graduated from Coral Gables High School. From an early age, he loved animals and knew with certainty that he wanted to be a veterinarian. He attended the University of Missouri, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Animal Husbandry and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. He further distinguished himself through an internship at Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston and a surgical residency at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. He was a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners.
Don’s career was that of an international educator, a healer, and a mentor. He taught surgery to generations of veterinary students, interns, and residents at Louisiana State University, the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, Canada, the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, Ontario, and the Universidad Austral de Chile. He co-authored textbooks that were translated into multiple languages, including Japanese and Italian, and contributed to numerous peer-reviewed publications. As Chief Veterinary Medical Officer of the Western Veterinary Conference at the Oquendo Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, he provided leadership and continuing education to veterinarians from around the world.
He was equally at home in the wilderness and the world. Don visited all 50 states, often taking his family on summer road trips across the United States and Canada, camping in national parks, hiking, hunting, and whitewater rafting. He was a dedicated runner who completed more than a dozen marathons and also competed as a cyclist and triathlete. He climbed Mount Rainier and Mount Olympus, was a licensed pilot with an instrument rating, a glider pilot, and a skeet and trap shooter. He even rafted the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe — crocodiles included.
Don was a man of faith and service. A longtime member of Blacksburg United Methodist Church, he served on the church council and taught Sunday school for many years. He was a friend of Bill W. for 38 years and worked tirelessly to help others in this endeavor. He volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and was a proud member of the Blacksburg Breakfast Lions Club.
He is survived by his wife, Claire Meyer Waldron; his daughters Leigh Waldron, Rennie Waldron, and Camille Street (Wes); his granddaughter Elle Meyer Street; his sister Barbara Reker; his brother Neal Edward Waldron (Joanne); and numerous in-laws, nieces, and nephews.
A service will be held at Blacksburg United Methodist Church on April 16 at 2 p.m., with a reception to follow.
The family wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to the staff of Brookdale Memory Care and Good Samaritan Hospice for their exceptional and compassionate care.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Virginia Tech Veterinary Teaching Hospital Compassionate Care Fund or Strauss Hospice House.
