Ziggy Douglas Memorial Fund

Donald “Ziggy” Douglas, Jr. is best described as larger than life.  He was a loving and devoted husband/best friend, father, and son to his tight-knit family. To the bleeding disorders community he was “our” Ziggy.  He was a one of a kind soul, with boundless energy, passion for experiential learning and teaching, and his goal was to make a difference for one person and then another and then another each and every hour of his day.  He was warm, welcoming, funny and mischievous with an infectious giggle that brought a smile to everyone’s face who was in ear-shot of it.  When he spoke to you, he was completely focused on you and he could HEAR you, because he really listened and cared. 

 

Somehow words just don’t seem to measure up when trying to describe the impact that Ziggy had on children with bleeding disorders and their families.  Whether it was as a camp director, a cabin counselor, an executive director of his Hawaii chapter, a leader of a session – Ziggy was all in at 200%.  When Ziggy walked into a room, you’d hear the squeals and shouts of “ZIGGY!!!!” by every child that was delighted to see him!!  He would speak to every child and then he’d make his way to the adults and give the best, biggest hugs accompanied by his ear to ear smile.  Ziggy was warmth, love and everything good in the world. 

 

Ziggy and his beautiful wife Lisa moved to Hawaii so that he could take his “dream job.”  He loved every single minute of serving the bleeding disorders family of Hawaii.  He told us that often.  Weekly in fact!  A quote from one of his and Lisa’s neighbors from the multitudes of remembrances on his Face Book page: Some people are just born with aloha spirit in their souls. Our dear friend and Ewa Beach neighbor Don -aka ‘Ziggy’ - was one of them. Don was the kind of friend that would do anything for you.  Another quote from a community member: This beautiful human was a light and positive influence on my kids and on me. He always had time to share a story and offer encouragement for all around him. The world is a better place because he graced it with his love and infectious zest for life. I consider myself privileged to have known him.

 

He leaves behind his wife and two daughters.  As you can imagine when the brightest, most amazing star goes out, it leaves a gulf.  Ziggy was the soul of his family.  His passing leaves behind the tragic to do list of figuring out how to get insurance,  how to pay for the costs of an untimely, unfair burial, and many other immediate needs. 

 

We, his dedicated friends, created this Go Fund Me account with loving intention to help his family.  To lighten the burden just a little bit.  That’s what Ziggy would have done for us and it’s the thing we have to do for him and those he loved the most. 

 

Please consider giving – every single dollar helps. 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

 

Another post from Face Book sums up Ziggy as the amazing soul that he was:

There are really no words to describe how it feels when one of your mentors unexpectedly passes away. It’s a sense of utter disbelief followed by a sense of hopelessness mixed with an outpouring of tears. I wish I could describe all the ways Ziggy impacted my life. He’s the reason I ever wanted to be a counselor at Camp Independent Firefly. He taught me to be a good counselor, and I always knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps. It’s one of the main reasons I joined the camp leadership team. And when I told him I was in charge of the junior counselors, he was ecstatic. I would finally be to our JCs what Ziggy was to me, although I could never live up to the reputation. Ziggy believed in me, and it forced me to believe in myself.