Passing of Don Decker leaves void on council, community

TEN SLEEP – Ten Sleep Councilman and longtime resident Don Decker passed away Monday, Dec. 19, in Billings, Mont., after a long battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 67.

“I’m going to miss Don immensely,” remarked Mayor Jack Haggerty on Wednesday. “He was a very talented man.”

For the Worland native, former radio station owner and 26-year resident of Ten Sleep, keeping costs low while not placing a burden on the voter was a basic political philosophy. “We can’t be spending money like it’s going out of style, at any level” noted Decker, while running for re-election for his second term last May.

From his home along Ten Sleep Creek, Decker often brought a folksy, gruff perspective to the problems facing the small town, always keeping his eye on anything that could cause the residents harm, from outside influences and budgetary concerns, to changes in weather and water.

“Don did things for Ten Sleep that some people may never know about,” said Lori Hughes, town clerk and treasurer. “He was just such a wonderful man, and worked really, really hard for our community.”

At times, when feeling well, Decker would attend town council meetings robust and full of life, dressed in denim coveralls and cowboy boots; when in ill health, he would attend wearing more comfortable attire, and sometimes just by telephone, but he never missed a chance to represent the voters who elected him to office.

Outside of town hall, Decker was a great fan of the American Experience, deeply conversational in Western American history, and a private collector of American muscle cars.

When a devastating fire destroyed the town’s fire hall in January 2105, Decker led the cause to rebuild and redesign a safer, more efficient facility within a year. “The redesigned fire hall was really his idea,” said Mayor Haggerty. “It’s really nicer because of him, safer, with more features that would have been missed otherwise. He was a very talented man.”

When the insurance paid out and it was time to rebuild the fire hall, Decker stepped away from the project and abstained from voting when his brother’s company, Roy Decker and Sons, Inc. of Worland, won the final bid for construction, as to not create a conflict of interest.

According to the mayor, in accordance with state law, the vacancy created with Decker’s passing will be appointed to “an eligible person to the office who shall serve until his successor is elected at the next general municipal election and qualified.”

In this case, the next general election will be in 2018.

And finally, as a journalist, you are dissuaded from having an opinion on civic leaders, professional or otherwise, but this reporter, as a Ten Sleep resident and witness to local politics, always found Don Decker a refreshing voice, both inside and out of the representative chamber. Like his beloved muscle cars, Don Decker was a true American original. He will be missed.