Donald Purser Obituary

Donald Guinn Purser, 73, of Fulshear passed away February 5, 2025. Don was born July 7, 1951, in San Angelo, Texas to Bill and Barbara Purser. He is preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife Connie of 50 years of marriage, daughter Dawn Stewart and son Toby Purser, and Aunt and Uncle Julie and Steve Filleman.
Don grew up all over west Texas as his parents moved frequently to pursue teaching and coaching opportunities. As early as five years old, he knew he wanted to be an architect. He pursued this dream at Texas Tech University and assisted with designing the buildings that would make up an expansion to his former high school in San Angelo, Texas while he was still just an undergrad. After graduating college with a degree in architecture, Don worked in commercial design on large-scale projects such as off shore drilling facilities before establishing his own firm that specialized in custom residential design. For over 40 years, Don designed hundreds of homes and remodels every year in the Houston area and all over Texas, along with select commercial projects such as wedding venues, wineries, chapels, restaurants, and even a ski resort. He loved getting to know his clients on a personal level and saw their requests like pieces of a puzzle that he would put together to create their dream home. He treasured the friendships he made not only with clients, but with his builder and engineer partners with whom he shared a brotherhood.
Don had the ability to find wonder in any and all aspects of life, from the extraordinary moments to the routine. He deeply valued creating memories with his friends and family and was always ready to make anything he enjoyed a "tradition" so he had the excuse to do it again. Novelty never wore off for him when it came time to spending time with those he loved, and his infectious excitement made everything feel special. Don loved watching comedic movies and his loud, joyous laugh often became funnier than the movie itself. When his children were growing up, each year Don spent months researching vacation destinations, creating intricate itineraries, and treating his family to incredible trips. He was a talented cook and loved treating his friends and family to top-notch grilled chicken, steaks, pizza, burgers, chili, and decadent chocolate martinis. Don loved wine tasting, stamp and coin collecting, playing Santa Claus no matter the ages of his children, and de-stressing with a good first-person shooter video game. He was active in his church community and his Catholic faith played a central role in his life. Don loved deeply, forgave easily, gave joyfully, and practiced putting others ahead of himself.
The Purser family will be present to receive friends for visitation Wednesday, February 12, 2025, at 6:00 PM with a Rosary starting at 7:00 PM at St. John Vianney Catholic Church 625 Nottingham Oaks Trail, Houston, TX 77079. Mass of Christian burial will be at St. John Vianney Catholic Church the following afternoon at 1:30 PM with a reception immediately following on church grounds. In Lieu of flowers please consider a charitable donation to MDAnderson.org/Gifts.