Donald Lee Case's Obituary
Donald Lee Case, 87, passed peacefully on Thursday, January 8, 2026, in Huntsville, Alabama.
Don is preceded in death by his wife of almost 64 years, Peggy Sue (Brannon) brother Bill Case and sister Carolyn Daves. Don is survived by his daughter Lainie Adams (Stephen), daughter Marla Wagner (Mike); granddaughters Jordan Ivey, Ashton Adams (Kyla Seo), Brooke Patterson (Ben), Heidi Wagner; great-grandsons Barrett Ivey and Chase Ivey; sister Janice Edmondson; nieces Leah Daves, Paige Johnston, Gretchen Duwel and Rebecca Heffner; nephews Lance Leverette and Greg Haubner; brothers-in-law Tommy Brannon and Tom Haubner; and sisters-in-law Liz Case and Mary Ellen Haubner.
Don was born in San Francisco, Ca. but grew up in Cobb County, Ga., spending time in the woods of Austell or swimming in Sweetwater Creek. He met the love of his life, Peggy Sue Brannon, while attending seventh grade at Austell School. Their friendship grew and deepened into love. He joined the Navy and thrived working in the CIC (Combat Information Center) on the USS Bayfield. He loved being in the dimly lit nerve center of the ship reading the radar and other controls. But he also enjoyed being topside with a cup of coffee and admiring the vast and unpredictable ocean.
After his four-year active-duty contract was completed, Don joined the Naval Reserves. He returned to Georgia and married Peggy Sue in 1960. After graduating from Georgia State, Don and Peggy moved to Northern Virginia, where he worked for the General Services Administration.
Don and Peggy lived in the Buckingham neighborhood of Arlington when their first daughter, Lainie, was born in 1968. Don continued with his education and graduated with his Master’s of Arts in Government from George Washington University in 1972. Also, in 1972, they welcomed their second daughter, Marla. The family soon moved to a larger house in the Arlington/Falls Church area, where they lived until they moved back to Georgia in 1984 to be closer to family.
Don was a quiet, deep-thinking, highly intelligent, and devoted family man. He always sacrificed and put his family’s needs above his own. His daughters always knew he loved them deeply, whether he showed it by bringing home a pocket full of Chiclets, teaching them to drive, or even bouncing his granddaughters on his knee just like he used to do with them. Don, each day, sat devotedly by the bedside of Peggy as she succumbed to cancer. Don was quiet in his Christian faith, but nonetheless deeply loved Jesus. Don was the absolute best husband, dad, and G-Dad this world has ever known.
A brief graveside military service will be held at Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Georgia, on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 11:00 A.M. For anyone wishing to attend, please plan to arrive 15 minutes ahead of service time.
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