Donald Thomas Statuto's life began on March 7, 1949, and unfolded into a story filled with devotion, family, curiosity, and profound compassion for all human beings and all animals. On the peaceful morning of August 19, 2026, Don died at home, surrounded by those who loved him most: Carol, his wife of 51 years; his beloved daughters, his "Little Women"; one of his dearest friends- a person he considered his brother, and the lively menagerie of rescue animals who had found safety and belonging beneath his roof.

Among the books that graced Don's library shelves was The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. Its words speak beautifully to the peace of his passing and the fullness of the life that came before it:

“Then Almitra spoke, saying, We would ask now of Death.

And he said:

You would know the secret of death.

But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?

The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.

If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;

And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.

Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.

Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.

Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?

Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then shall you begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”

Don has now reached that mountain top. Yet he remains present in every life he nurtured as an accomplished medical doctor and surgeon, every creature he sheltered, and every memory held close by his family. The proud father of his three “Little Women” and the cherished husband of Carol, he was deeply loved in life and will be loved forever.