Don Jahn
Board Member

Don married his lovely wife, Becky, in 1957. They have 3 daughters and 2 sons (1 deceased) and 2 grandchildren. It appears that his time in the Navy influenced his family to locate across the paths they traced in change of station orders with their current set of locations being Savannah, GA, Fort Worth, TX, and Los Gatos, CA. It is clear from his history growing up and into adult life he enjoys working with other people towards a common goal whether it is a sport activity, community or personal project.

Don has retired twice already. He is a retired Naval Officer and a retired Information Technology Manager and Executive. Currently he is an elder in his church. Don also enjoys Tennis(singles) especially and sports in general having coached various types of sports teams (football, basketball, lacrosse).

Don has been the President for the Alliance for the Physically Disabled(APD) since 1998, and recently stepped down as President on 1 January 2007 but continues on the board. He frequently visits the Merica House residents, besides fulfilling his responsibilities with the APD. He says what he likes best about working with Merica House is that it “provides an opportunity to help my neighbor and touch other peoples’ lives in the MH family and community in general.” He also serves on the board of Coalition for Housing in the Community for Everyone which advocates for ac`cessibility standards being implemented in housing plus educating real estate people and consumers on home buying/selling to the disabled community.

“I grew up in California and went to college on the East Coast (Naval Academy) where I played football and lacrosse. Big band music really resonates with me having played in a swing band in high school (tenor sax and clarinet).” And I find the local area a good base to enjoy the opportunity to be involved in community work as wellas visit family across the country and visa versa.