Donald Ray O'Connor

Donald Ray O'Connor, known as "Donnie" by most, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, August 11th, 2026, at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines. He was 69 years old.

Along with his twin brother, Daniel (Danny), they were both born on January 27th, 1957, to Charles and Florence O'Connor in Des Moines. Unfortunately, Danny passed away at an early age. He was just an infant.

Donnie grew up being part of a very large family. Besides Danny, he had 5 sisters (Sylvia, Alice, Marlene, and Lori) and 2 brothers, Butch and Jimmy. He eventually had 5 step-siblings as well. They were a blended family that he loved very much.

Donnie went on to graduate from East High School in Des Moines as a part of the class of 1976. After graduation, he decided to pursue a career in transport. He earned his CDL and became an owner/operator of a "big rig," giving him the opportunity to travel and see almost every state in the U.S., and parts of Canada.

After being an over the road driver for many years, he decided it was time to come off the road and drive locally. It was only a year ago that Donnie started driving an End Dump for Gnann Trucking. He loved it so much and enjoyed bragging to his other truck driving buddies about "his" truck only having 4,000 miles when he first started. It was one of his greatest pleasures rubbing it in that he got to drive a new truck.

When not working, Donnie and his best friend of 61 years, Buddy Mikessell, would spend countless hours on the phone talking about Harley Davidson motorcycles. It brought both of them great joy. He was such a great friend to so many people who loved and adored him. He was the most genuine, loving, caring, and giving person that touched the lives of so many. He was truly a remarkable human being that will be greatly missed.

Donnie is survived by his sister, Lori Biagiali, as well as many nieces and nephews that he loved so much. He took great pride in knowing he was the "favorite uncle" to most of them, and also survived by his fur baby, Jazzy.

But most of all, Donnie loved the role of being "Dad." He was the truest form of a father, biological or not. He was extremely proud of Raymond Montoya and Stephanie Wkuck and their children; and Dakota Duff, as well as Alyssa Torres, Kegan Torres, Callie Smith, and Kayla Lorenz.

Yet his favorite role of all was being "Papa" to his grandsons Landon and Jace and his granddaughter Jenna.

He will mostly be missed by his partner of 15 years, Kimberly Woolery. Life will never be the same without Donnie.

There will be a visitation for Donnie O'Connor on Wednesday, August 19th, 2026, from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm, which will include a sharing of memories towards the end of the service. There will also be a small luncheon during this time.

The service will be held at Simplify Funeral Home, which is located at 4821 SW 9th St., Des Moines, Iowa.