Amherst, Donald G. Urquhart, 77, a longtime Amherst resident died unexpectedly May 11, 2018 at home. He was born to Lloyd and Valerie Urquart, in Miford, MA Feb. 25, 1941. Don was raised by his single mom, a seamstress, who worked many years at House of Walsh in Amherst, MA. His sister, Donna (Urquahart) Cormier, predeceased him in 2014. His only known survivor is his niece, Chandra Marie Dubay of Hilo, HI.

Don served in the Navy in submarines under the North Sea and off the coast of Russia. After his military service, he married Barbara and settled in Pembroke, MA. He was a traveling salesman, a job that suited Don’s charismatic persona, and probably gave him an advantage to close many a deal with his stories, jokes, and ability to jump in to help others in any sort of situation.  After his divorce from Barbara, he moved to South Amherst, MA and stayed at his mom’s house in late 1970s, working at UMass as a night custodian and loved being assigned to Boyden Gym. He was great at house projects and excellent at fixing things: the lawn mower, gadgets, he was handy with drills, saws, sanders, power and hand tools. He was known to hang with the gang from various local Amherst bars and restaurants. He was a regular member and golfer at Amherst golf club, where he was proud to have gotten a hole-in-one. Burial will be Tuesday May 22, 2018 at 10:00 am in the Mass Veterans Cemetery in Agawam, MA.