Obituary: Don Nonella

Donald V. Nonella of Fallon, Nevada, passed away on August 19, 2026, at Highland Village. He was born September 5, 1931, in Fort Bragg, California, to Silvio and Martha Nonella.

Don grew up on his grandfather’s ranches in Elk and Navarro Ridge, California. He graduated from high school in 1949. At age 5, he started driving teams of horses while baling straw. He stayed busy in his early years pitching grain bundles to a threshing machine, shoeing horses, taking care of sheep, operating Caterpillar equipment, shearing sheep, and hunting.

In 1955, Don married Barbara Caughey, and they had four children: Larry, Debra, Tom, and Carolyn. Don liked ranching and driving trucks. They moved to Bly, Oregon, in 1966, where they built 7C Ranch with help from their children. In 1972, he purchased his first cattle truck, a 1964 Kenworth. He started hauling cattle and didn’t stop until 1997. 

In 1979, Don and Barbara bought the Eastgate and Campbell Creek ranches east of Fallon, Nevada. They built a nice herd of Hereford-Angus crossbred cows but had problems with the Navy. After nine years, they moved to the Elko area, keeping the cattle truck busy and running bred heifers in the summer. In 1993, they leased the Saval and Haystack ranches, which kept Don busy for 15 years. 

Don retired in 2008 and bought a camp trailer. He and his dog, Shep, traveled the West visiting friends and family. He wrote a book in 2013, “Starting Below the Bottom.” In 2019, he moved back to Fallon and went to the sale barns on auction days, keeping up on the happenings. “Good things don’t go on forever.” Don passed away a little more than two weeks before his 95th birthday, with his good friend Star and her daughter, Carrie, checking in on him.

Don is survived by his son, Tom (Darla) Nonella of Klamath Falls, Oregon; grandsons Roger (Kelsey) Nonella of Redmond, Oregon, and Mark (Jenna) Nonella of Klamath Falls, Oregon; grandson Richard (Veronica) Lamb of Spring Creek, Nevada; granddaughter Kelly Pfeifer of Ruby Valley, Nevada; great-grandchildren Riley and Reagan Nonella, Nathan, Ace, and Sadie Nonella, Shayna (Brandon Mariluch), Shyann, Sharmayne (Nathan Backherms) Lamb, and Thomas and Sarah Pfeifer; great-great-grandson Atlas Backherms; and son-in-law Mark Leach.

Don was preceded in death by his parents, Silvio and Martha Nonella; his wife, Barbara; his son, Larry; his daughters, Debra and Carolyn; his grandson, Ross Leach; and his siblings, Roy and Delores.