Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Donald Glenn Skinner, 84, son of David Toliver Skinner and Ruby Eleanor Strickland Skinner, died on Feb. 18, 2020 at the John F. Keever Jr. Solace Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

Don was born in Selma, Alabama, and grew up in nearby Wilcox County, graduating high school from Moore Academy in Pine Apple, Alabama. He earned a BS in Chemistry and a MBA from the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha fraternity.

Don was preceded in death by his parents; a twin brother, David Toliver Skinner Jr.; and three first cousins who were like brothers, John Crocker, Jerry Clyde Oldshue, and Kit Carson Carter Jr.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Mary Jane Pickens Skinner; daughters, Katie Skinner (Curtis McCorsley) and Glenda Skinner; and grandchildren, Indio Skinner, Suwannee Skinner, Ewen Gallardo and Meadow Gallardo.

Starting his career in the textile industry, Don worked for Calloway Mills and Chemstrand. In 1964 he transferred to the paper industry in which he worked for the ensing 35 years in Alabama (Butler, Demopolis), Oregon (Eugene), Arkansas (Crossett), and Connecticut (Greenwich) for American Can, James River, Georgia Pacific, and Gulf States Paper . He served on the Auburn University Research Advisory Council and Gulf States Paper Company’s Board of Directors. He retired as Executive Vice President of Gulf States Paper Company in 1999.

Don was an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA), serving Spanish Fort Presbyterian Church after he and Mary Jane moved to Daphne, Alabama, following retirement.

Don loved his family and relatives, had a keen sense of humor, liked to snitch peanut butter, brown sugar and mayonnaise, grilled a great steak and fried delicious oysters, balanced his check book to the penny, enjoyed his tree farm in Wilcox County, and was an avid fan of BAMA football, basketball and softball.

It is fitting that Don’s burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in the shadow of Bryant-Denny Stadium. Prior to interment, a memorial service will be held at the Warner Chapel of First Presbyterian Church, 900 Greensboro Ave., Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Sunday. May 17, 2020, at 3 p.m. One hour prior to the service, the family will receive friends in the Chapel. In the meantime, family and friends will meet at Harmony at Reynolds Mountain, Asheville, North Carolina, on Sunday, March 8, at 3 p.m. for a memorial gathering.

In lieu of flowers, the family request memorials be considered to the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation. Don worked tirelessly researching medical treatment and therapies for his grandson who was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, the disease that took Gwendolyn Strong’s life. Contributions can be sent to Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, 27 W. Anapamu Street, Suite 177, Santa Barbara, California 93101 or online at www.nevergiveup.org