Riverside Polytechnic High School in 1944
Quartermaster in the US Navy during World War II
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Don Biery was a well-known Realtor and business owner in Tustin in the 1980s and 1990s,
was the founding chairman of the exploratory commission for and initial organizer of
the Tustin Area Fine Arts Council (TACFA), was Director of Tustin Parks and Recreation
in 1974 and later served on the Tustin Parks and Recreation Commission from 1988 to 1994.
Don was instrumental in expanding the annual Tustin Tiller Days event and served as a
board director for both the Tustin Boys & Girls Club and the Tustin Area Historical Society prior to
retiring. Named Chairman of Tustin Chamber Legislative Committee
About:
Don Biery, 95, died peacefully on March 21, 2022 (a week shy of his 96th birthday) in Carlsbad, California.
He was born on March 29, 1926, at Berkeley, California, the son of Donald Hazelton and Sarah Melissa (Pomeroy) Biery. Don graduated from Riverside Polytechnic High School in 1944, where he was a member
of the JROTC. Immediately following graduation, he served as a Quartermaster in the US Navy during
World War II on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean. After the war, he received his baccalaureate
degree at
San Jose State College in Physical Education and Recreation. Don finished his MBA course
work at Brigham Young University, but did not write his thesis, and always regretted not completing
his MBA.
Don married Cynthia Sue Cordes in 1974, and they celebrated 47 years of marriage and 8 children. He worked as the Director of Parks and Recreation in Livermore, California, Walnut Creek, California and
Tustin, California. He later became a business owner and real estate agent in Tustin, California and
Lake Elsinore, California. Upon retirement, he bought some acreage in Fairview, Utah, and became a
hobby farmer, raising chickens and ducks for 10 years.
Don was a member of the Tustin Chamber of Commerce and was voted Tustin Area Man of the Year
in 1991. He was instrumental in expanding the annual Tustin Tiller Days event and was a founding
member of the Tustin Area Council for Fine Arts. Don and his wife, Cynthia, loved volunteering in their church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they served three full-time missions: Manila, Philippines 2002-2004; Bangalore, India 2007-2008; and New York State 2012-2013.
In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his brother, Richard, and his sister, Susie. Surviving in addition to his wife, Cynthia (Cordes) Biery, are his eight children: Daniel Biery of Fairview, UT; Steven Biery and his wife, Carolyn, of Livermore, CA; Kathe Espinili and her husband, Riz, of Irvine, CA; Michelle Holdaway and her husband, Paul, of Carlsbad, CA; Charlotte Meloni and her husband, Michael, of Isleton, CA; Rick Biery of Moses Lake, WA; John Biery and his wife, Susan, of Rocklin, CA; and Sarah Phillips and her husband, Brian, of Meridian, ID. Don also leaves behind 26 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, as well as his older sister Joy Mills of Tempe, AZ, and younger sister Melza Barr and her husband, Ted, of Houston, TX.
Don will be interred at Miramar National Cemetery, San Diego, California, in a private service.
*Deceased - March 26, 1926 - March 21, 2022
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