Don DeJong ’54, the baby-faced, record-breaking athlete for all seasons, died July 10, 2025, at 93.
While his professional career as a school administrator took him to Florida, DeJong spent sizable chunks of his retirement in Granville, Ohio, supporting Denison, where he starred on the football, basketball, and track and field teams. He was inducted into the Varsity D Association Hall of Fame in 1981.
“Don loved Denison,” says Jack Hatem, named Big Red head football coach in 2010. “He interacted with us a lot after I was named head coach, and he did everything he could to help us. Zack Brent ’07 was my first defensive coordinator, and Don really helped Zack a lot – even staying in touch with Zack when the family would go back to Florida.”
DeJong was like a character ripped from the panels of a Gil Thorp comic strip. Industrious and …Read More