Funeral service for MAJ (Retired) Donald I. Paquin, 77 of Lawton will be at 10:00 a.m. Friday, August 21, 2020 in the Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Chapel with Deacon Bob Quinnett, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, Lawton officiating.

Burial with full military honors will be in the Post Cemetery, Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

The family will greet friends Thursday evening from 6pm until 8pm at the funeral home.

For those unable to attend, the service may be viewed by following the livestream link at www.beckerfuneral.com or by visiting the Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Facebook page.

MAJ (Retired) Donald Iver Paquin, 77, Lawton, died peacefully on Monday, August 10, 2020 in Lawton.   Don was born August 30, 1942 in Lowell, Massachusetts to Albert Joseph and Catherine Dorothy Paquin.  He graduated from Keith Academy in 1959 and joined the United States Army in 1960.  He served as an infantryman with the 101 ^st Airborne Division during the Cuban Missile Crisis before becoming one of the Army's earliest Special Forces soldiers in 1963.  He married Yaeko in Okinawa, Japan, after meeting her during one of his tours serving with Special Operations Group of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.  After graduating from Field Artillery Officer Candidate School, Class 1-68, at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, 12 December 1967, he served a second tour in Vietnam as a forward observer with Company B, 2 ^nd Battalion, 505 ^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82 ^nd Airborne Division, where he won our Nation's 3 ^rd highest award for bravery, the Silver Star, for gallant action during intense fighting in January 1969.  His career as a Field Artillery Officer included commands at Fort Sill and in the Ryuku Islands and tours in Schwabisch Gmund, Germany, as a Pershing Missile Platoon Commander, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, as a fire support officer, and finally retiring at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1981.  Following his 21-year career in the Army, he owned and operated a Taco John's franchise in Lawton, and he taught at Tomlinson Junior High School until 2002.  He earned his Bachelor's Degree from Cameron University and a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Central Oklahoma in 1992.  Don was a Freemason, an energetic veterans affairs advocate for his disabled veteran brothers-in-arms, and an active member  of numerous organizations including the Oklahoma Chapter of the Special Forces Association and Golden Brigade Chapter of the 82 ^nd Airborne Division Association.

Don, the "Duck Hunter", was a patriot and proud of his service to his country, but he was most proud of what he considered his legacy-his children and grandchildren he shared with his wife, Yaeko.

Don is survived by the love of his life of 54 years, wife, Yaeko,of the home, his brother David A. Paquin, of Kannapolis, North Carolina, his daughter Tomi Ann Baker and her husband Christopher Baker, and their children, Brittaney, Christopher, and Cameron, of Madison, Alabama; his son, Donald Louis Paquin and his fiancé , Amanda Zaleski, of Woodbridge, Virginia, and his children, Alexander, Nicholas, Nathaniel, Amelia, and Daniel; and his son Albert Joseph Paquin, and his wife Paula, and their children, Langdon and Alexis of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Albert and Catherine, brother, Robert, and sister, Jo-Ann, all of Lowell, Massachusetts.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in memory of MAJ (Retired) Donald Paquin to "The Golden Brigade Chapter", Heritage Fund, 4075 Old River Trail, Powhatan, Virginia 23139-4112