“Don was full of pranks and jokes,” Irvin Alhadeff said. “Most of those jokes can't be reproduced and can't be published in a newspaper.”
Donald M. Leavern Jr., a Columbus native, died April 27 in Oconee County of cancer and other health issues. He was 85 years old.
“He remembered everything,” Becky Alhadeff said. Her father graduated from Columbus High School with Leavern. Mr. Rayburn remembered all his classmates, his football teammates, his family, and the details of every football game. “He didn't forget anything.”
He may also have a bad temper. The Alhadeffs remember that in 2006, while walking their dog with Suzanne, Leburn, then 68, got into an argument with their 49-year-old neighbor. A neighbor's dog started barking at the Leburns' dog. As it started, a neighbor approached the couple and started yelling obscenities at them.
A fight ensued. The man punched Mr. Leburn in the mouth. Rayburn knocked his neighbor to the ground. The neighbors stood up and continued the fight. Mr. Leburn punched him several more times, eventually breaking his nose and collapsing his lungs, sending him to the hospital.
Rayburn later said that while he regretted the incident, he “strongly believes in the right of self-defense.” Neither man pressed charges.
“He should have known not to say ugly things in front of Suzanne,” Becky Alhadeff said. “Don wasn't going to let that happen.”
After high school, Leburn attended UGA. Standing 6 feet 3 inches tall, he served as a lineman and right tackle for the Bulldogs football team, which won the SEC Championship in 1959 and the Orange Bowl in 1960. He then returned to Columbus and joined the Georgia Crown Distributing Company. His family-owned business imports and sells alcoholic beverages, wine, and beer in Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama. After working as a salesman, he became president in 1968 and chairman of the board in 1992.
“Don is certainly a legend in our industry,” said Doug Hertz, chairman and CEO of Georgia Crown competitor United Distributors. “His extraordinary personality and ability to care about his friends led him to operate very extensively in Georgia and to be a very successful businessman. A very successful businessman.”
Leburn was interested in politics and donated to politicians from all walks of life. His influence allowed him to obtain a bill in the Georgia state legislature to brand one of his businesses, Dahlonega Pure Water, as a spring water, even though no springs were involved. I did. Governor Zell Miller appointed Leburn to the Board of Regents in his 1991 year.
He was chairman of the search committee that brought Michael Adams to Athens in 1997 as UGA president. Leburn, along with then-UGA Foundation President Dan Amos, contributed funds to Adams' compensation package to help cover his son's tuition at Emory University. Leburn's support for Adams never wavered, even when Adams shortened former football coach Vince Dooley's contract as UGA's athletic director and later declined to renew it.
Mr. Leburn served on the Board of Directors from 1991 to 2019. He was also a founding member of the University System Foundation of Georgia, where he served as president from 1994 to 1995. He offers hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships annually. “Don Leavern Jr. was a long-time regent and a tremendous benefactor to the University System of Georgia. We are extremely grateful for his service and dedication,” said Sonny Perdue, president of the University System of Georgia. USG is better because of Don Leeburn.”
In addition to his wife, Leburn is survived by a son, Donald M. Leburn III, and a daughter, Gant Leburn Shadburn and their spouses. He is survived by his stepson Adam Yokran, stepdaughter Ari Yokran Eriksen, three grandchildren, two granddaughters, and five step-grandchildren.
A graveside service will be held at Evergreen Memorial Park, 3655 Atlanta Highway in Athens, on May 2 at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider a donation to the UCBC Cares Foundation, 3320 Old Jefferson Road, Building 800, Athens, GA 30607.