Don served as project manager for all the phases of F-line construction, taking the lead in tackling the issues raised by merchants and residents along the route, spending endless hours in meetings to reach agreements that would let the project move forward.

“He was a beautiful man who took great pride in his work,” Alessandro Baccari, executive director of the Fisherman’s Wharf Merchants Association, told Carl Nolte of the Chronicle in that paper’s obituary of Don. When disagreeements arose about an F-line issue at the Wharf, Baccari said Don would show up at his office with a bag of lemons and say, “Let’s make lemonade.” And Don would literally do just that while talking through the issue.

In the same obituary, Muni Executive Director Michael Burns called Don “the ultimate professional... He set the standard we would like to see in all our professionals.”

“Don exemplified everything that a public servant should be,” said Rick Laubscher, MSR president. “We miss him greatly, both as a driving force for getting things done, and as a generous member of our organization. Our hearts go out to his wife, Eunice, and his family.”

To pay lasting tribute to Don, the MSR Board of Directors has created an annual Don Chee Achievement Award, which will be presented to the Muni employee who does the most to advance historic transit activities in that year. Don himself will be the initial honoree, fulfilling plans to honor Don made in advance of his final illness. Eunice Chee says Don’s wish was that those desiring to remember him may make contributions to Market Street Railway.