Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) employee Donald Walton passed away on December 21, 2020 from cancer at the age of 59. Lovingly known as Mr. Donnie, many students and staff knew Donnie as he worked for both Coronado Middle School (CMS) and Silver Strand Elementary School. He was a cousin to CUSD employee Forrest Perkins who works as the Coronado High School campus supervisor. Donnie was a father of four children: Ti’Shaunda, Patricia, Brittany, and Charles Anthony.
A resident of National City, Donnie joined CUSD in 2007 as the CMS campus supervisor, and later became part of the custodial team. From 2015-2017 he worked at Silver Strand Elementary as the daytime custodian. Silver Strand Principal Jenny Moore shared, “He was one of the kindest, gentlest, and dependable teammates I’ve worked with, and always a pleasure to encounter. He had many loyal friends among staff, but more people counted him as a friend than he probably even knew.” In 2017, Donnie returned to Coronado Middle School as a custodian, where he worked until his passing.
Coronado students remember Donnie as a mentor and friend. He loved to play football with students who were in awe of his amazing passes. He also loved to talk about sports with students and everyone knew his favorite team was the Raiders. Donnie loved being part of the CMS community as he wore his Triton hat and jacket every day, except when the Raiders were playing and he switched up his outfit to cheer on his favorite team.
Harry McCue was a student at Silver Strand Elementary and CMS with Donnie and considered him a friend. “Donnie always took the time to be personal and friendly. He was always cracking jokes and making our school experience a little brighter.”
CMS Principal Karin Mellina notified CMS families of Donnie’s passing in a January 3 email newsletter. She shared, “He loved being around the kids and took great pride in being part of the CMS community.”
Principal Mellina created a GoFundMe page to help cover Donnie’s funeral costs and related family expenses. Contributions can be made at the GoFundMe page here.
A celebration of Donnie’s life will be held in 2021.
