Donald "Don" Cave
May 14th, 1939 - Oct 2nd, 2025- Birth Date: May 14, 1939
- Death Date: Oct 2, 2025
- Funeral Date: Oct 8, 2025 at 5:00 pm
- Location: Ruebel Funeral Home
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Biography:
Our beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend, Don Cave died on October 2, 2025, after several years of coping with kidney failure. Nevertheless, he was strong, capable, and successful in all other aspects of his life.
Don was born in Philadelphia on May 14,1939, the first son of Adeline and Edward Cave. He attended public schools in Philly where he was an average student and outstanding athlete. He then attended Susquehanna University where he played varsity football and began to excel academically. Having earned his B.S. there, he chose to continue his education at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago. There he earned a Ph.D. in anatomy. Two post-doctoral years followed, the first at Lund University in Sweden and the second at Max Planck Institute in Tubingen, Germany.
Returning to the US, he took a position at the University of Pittsburg where he taught and did research for several years. With a desire to leave the East Coast for less crowded parts, he moved his family to Little Rock in the early 70’s to take a position at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where he remained until his retirement. He embraced life in Arkansas, enjoying the natural beauty of the state, its friendly citizens, and his intellectually stimulating colleagues. He loved his adopted state.
Don enjoyed teaching and generally was the first professorial face first-year medical students encountered. Diligent, fair, and thorough, he taught a whole generation of Arkansas doctors. With his colleague and friend Robert Burns, he wrote a textbook to help medical students pass their board exams.
Don also was deeply involved in research. His collaboration with Kathy Eisenach and the late Joe Bates resulted in a rapid diagnostic test for tuberculosis which was patented and used throughout the world. He travelled to medical labs in many countries, consulting and aiding health care workers in treating TB.
For much of his life Don was involved in competitive sports, excelling in running, race walking, and biking. He ran countless 5k’s, 10k’s, half marathons, and three marathons; he ran the Boston Marathon once and walked it once after he was no longer able to run. His running speed was legendary. No one could believe that gray-haired, bewhiskered guy could run so fast.
He also loved to bike, one of his saddest times being when his most favorite bike, which cost more than his Volkswagen, was stolen.
He and his wife, Donna bicycled in many parts of the US and Europe. Italy was a favorite not only for biking but also for the fantastic food and wine, which he also truly enjoyed. As he grew older, he was a constant walking figure in the Heights, and he and Donna took several walking trips in the UK and other parts of Europe.
He loved the Arts Center and the opera. His group of “opera tailgaters” had great times together at opera HD intermissions, and he and Donna visited many opera houses in the US and Europe. They spent March at the Jersey Shore and August in Colorado. Life was truly a moveable feast.
Don loved his friends and was always eager for a party or adventure, and his friends enjoyed his company even as his health failed. He left a wonderful family who rallied around him, especially in his final days. He was predeceased by his parents and his beloved brother, Lance Cave. He is survived by his wife, Donna Watkins Cave, his former wife, Joan Baltz, his sister-in-law, Meg Cave, his nephew, Scott Cave (Cyndee), his niece Corey Cave Schamberg (Ben), and his children, Dr. Eric Cave (Alyson), Heidi Cave McNamer (David), Ben Brainard (Jamie), and Anne Stefanova (Nick). His grandchildren are Jessica Cave of Asheville, NC, Emily Bunting of Sausalito, CA, Anson Stefanov, John Holden Brainard, and Miriam Brainard, all of Little Rock. His friends are too numerous to mention.
The family thanks the nursing staff at Little Rock Renal Services who took loving care of him for five years, Mark Horn who faithfully drove him to dialysis, the incredible ICU nurses and doctors at UAMS, and Arkansas Hospice, who cared for him in his final days.
Don was a remarkable person, highly accomplished and yet very human. We will not forget him.
There will be a visitation at Ruebel Funeral Home from 5 to 6 pm on Wednesday, October 8, 2025, with a memorial service immediately following at 6 pm in the Chapel.
If you wish, you may honor Don’s memory with a donation to the National Kidney Foundation or to the Arkansas Foodbank.
I am deeply saddened to hear about Don’s passing. He was truly a great person, colleague and friend, who I learned a lot from. He contributed greatly towards my career, and was one of the most caring persons too. May he always rest in peace!!! Regards, Kashef
Don was a wonderful man who I got to know through TB research. He was always so supportive of others and made a big difference in the field. In lieu of flowers, I have made a donation to the American Kidney Foundation in his honor.
Best regards
It is hard to believe that Don is gone as it seems to be yesterday when he warmly welcomed me to America at the Little Rock Airport more than 30 years ago and my 93-year-old mother still vividly remembers the joy that our family had in Don and Donna's house for our very 1st American Thanksgiving Holiday in 1995. My family and myself are very saddened by the loss of Don, our beloved friend of more than 30 years.
I was glad to be able to come to Little Rock from Ann Arbor, Michigan yesterday, to join you and many of Don’s friends to celebrate Don’s incredible life as a husband, a father, a researcher, an educator, and a friend.
Despite that I have left Little Rock for more than 25 years, I had the privilege to continue to have Don's constant encouragement, unwavering support, and thoughtful helpful advice through all these years.
Interacting with Don was pleasant for me as he was such a good listener who would carefully listen to everything that you told him about and then he would share his interesting and thought-provoking questions, thoughtful comments, and helpful suggestions, no matter if the topic was about research, teaching, or just some small practical things of life.
Every time when I called Don, especially after I had not called him for a while, I could feel the joy of him when he answered, "Hi, Zhenhua!" with a raised voice. When I heard his cheerful voice, I was reassured that he remained strong.
Every time when I talked to him over the phone, he always showed his great interest in what I was up doing at that time, asking me what I was teaching, how many students in my class, and what research project I was doing, etc. He did this in my last phone conversation on Sep 9th, which was just a little more than three weeks before his passing.
In my memories, our interactions were often slow-paced, but they were always productive, stimulating, and exciting. It was also not rare that we would share laughter from time to time during our interactions.
I can never overstate the impact that Don had on me as my respected postdoc mentor and a long-time dear friend of mine. My family and I will forever be grateful to Don for the incredible support that he has given me and my family in our American adventure of three decades.
It is sad for me to think that I will never be able to call Don again. I will miss him forever. But I know Don will live on my heart forever.
With love and deepest sympathy,
Zhenhua
Karen and John
Many condolences to you on the passing of Don. While saddened by this news, I will always cherish the many memories of your kindness and great support for our family 30+ years ago when we were new immigrants to America. I’m truly grateful for having you as friends.
Regards,
Yinghan
My condolences to you on the passing of Don.
I had the pleasure of working in the Microanatomy course at UAMD with Don and Bob Burns for 17 years (1987 - 2005). I learned so much from both of them with every lecture and lab and carried that information through my current position at Drexel University in Philadelphia. I still use the board exam review text before every lab because of its excellent coverage of normal and pathological tissues and organs. Don was the ultimate professional with a great repour with the medical students. I am proud to have worked with him and appreciate him making me a better anatomist.
They treated me w/ 100 %.respect & were 100%.professional, even teaching me many items in the coursework. I shall ever miss Dr. Cave & his special way his eyes smiled. He was a true MASTER TEACHER.
Randy O. Bowling, B.S. Health Education
R.O.B. /
Arkansas Thoracic Society
We shall miss him!
David C. Jacks, MD. UAMS Class of 1976
Wishing you comfort and peace ????❤️
My name is Patricia, and I am a social worker at a medical facility where Mr. Cave attended. We at the facility knew Mr. Cave had been a teacher, he said he taught anatomy. He did not say he was a world-renowned scientist. He did not mention all his contributions to medicine. We did not know the extent of the foundation for medical science he gave to people who would later become brilliant doctors. All those facts were learned after his passing.
What we did know was that Mr. Cave was a wonderful person. He was kind and humble and appreciated every conversation, treatment and assistance that was given to him. We knew that he had a good heart. He was sick and at times he had hard days. But there was no day that he didn’t thank us for the medical attention he received. He stayed true to himself. He taught us, you may not like your situation, but you can still appreciate the people around you and the environment you are experiencing.
I will miss him. It was an honor to know him and be around him. He found a way to bring cheer to others with his kind words and beautiful spirit. He had inner strength. He found a way to show that strength when it was most needed.
I therefore conclude that Mr. Cave was a perfect person. He strived to be the best person for himself and wanted other people to do the same. He led by example and focused on contributing to the character of other people in large and small ways. He had an inner goodness that was a joy to see.
Now our sweet Mr. Cave is not with us anymore. I believe the beauty found in nature is a reminder of him. Stop and look at a wildflower, or appreciate a sun set. Natural perfections in this world can be a representation of this beautiful person that was Mr. Don Cave.