When Donald Dean Gocken was born on 19 February 1937, in Fremont, Dodge, Nebraska, United States, his father, Harold Leroy Gocken, was 20 and his mother, Maxine Harriet Richey, was 18. He married Betty Lou Pensick on 15 December 1955, in Logan, Harrison, Iowa, United States. He lived in longmont, Weld, Colorado, United States in 2009. He died on 18 February 2009, in Longmont, Boulder, Colorado, United States, at the age of 71, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Longmont, Boulder, Colorado, United States.