Don Killingsworth
         1950 - 2011

Don was born January 22, 1950 and passed away on December 13, 2011, in Tyler, Texas. 
He attended Spring Woods his freshman year.  Ken Rains, had this to say about his good friend,  "Don was a close friend of mine but I lost track of him after several years.  He was always there when a friend was needed."
 

Obituary:
Donald F. Killingsworth
Texas A&M lost a fine Aggie, the nation lost a warrior, and Tyler lost a defender of the poor and condemned Tuesday with the death of Donald F. Killingsworth - soldier, attorney and father. He died Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011, in Tyler of congestive heart failure. He was 61.

For 30 years Mr. Killingsworth defended individuals charged with serious crimes, often capital murder and on death row. He was considered one of East Texas's most capable appellate lawyers. He obtained reversals in more than a dozen murder and felony appeals, notably a new trial for Gregory Russeau, charged with the murder of a Tyler mechanic, by challenging the improper admission of documents as a violation of the Confrontation Clause.

Mr. Killingsworth grew up all over the world as his father, Francis "Cotton" Killingsworth, worked in the international oil industry. The younger Killingsworth graduated high school in 1967 from Tehran American School in Tehran, Iran. Mr. Killingsworth returned to the U.S. to join the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets, where he graduated in 1972 with a B.A. in history.

Commissioned as a second lieutenant, he served in the U.S. Army six years, eventually promoted to captain. He served at Fort Jackson, Fort Polk and at the DMZ in South Korea where he would later remark that he had never experienced anywhere on earth more cold. One evening there he bought the entire Officer's Club drinks when Texas A&M won its first televised game.

Mr. Killingsworth left the Army in 1979 to enter law school at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, where he graduated in 1981. He practiced criminal defense law with the San Antonio firm of Nicholas and Barrera. He moved to Tyler in 1986 where he continued his law practice. He served as a briefing attorney for the Tyler Court of Appeals from 1999 to 2001 and returned to private practice.

Mr. and Mrs. Killingsworth were members of Good Shepherd Reformed Episcopal Church in Tyler.

Mr. Killingsworth was known universally for his humor, courtesy, thoughtfulness, kindness and sincerity. Among lawyers and judges, he was recognized for his honesty and knowledge of arcane and useful aspects of Texas criminal law and procedure. When a lawyer could not answer an important question with a computer search, he or she knew to call Don.

Mr. Killingsworth is survived by his wife, Mary Killingsworth; daughters Shelley, Catherine and Mariah; his mother, Catherine Marguerite Lewis; his brother, Alan Killingsworth; and hundreds of friends who were grateful to know him.

His funeral will be held at Rose Heights Assembly of God in Tyler on Saturday, Dec. 17, at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers that donations to the Good Shepherd Reformed Episcopal School Scholarship Fund, 2525 Old Jacksonville Highway, Tyler, 75701; or The Hospice of East Texas, 4111 University Blvd., Tyler, 75701.