Donald "Don" Diamant

Don was born on February 9, 1940, in Little Rock, AR, to parents Donald Diamant, Sr. and Mamie Diamant. He spent his formative years living on a small farm in the Midway community of Lonoke County, graduating from Cabot High School in 1958.

By the time he was 21 years old, all the members of Don’s immediate family had passed away so he set about making his own way in life. After driving trucks for a while, he joined the North Little Rock Fire Department in 1961, in which he served for over 12 years, ultimately obtaining the rank of District Chief.

In 1970, Don purchased his first motorcycle dealership, beginning his work in the area that generated so many of his long-term friends and acquaintances. By 1979, the motorcycle dealership had settled into two brands, becoming known as Honda of North Little Rock and Arkansas Yamaha. If you purchased a motorcycle or 3/4-wheeler in Central Arkansas between 1970 and 2002, there’s a good chance you met or knew Don Diamant or “DD” as so many of his friends called him.

An offshoot of the motorcycle business began in the late 1970s when Don formed a small trucking company to haul new units for his dealership from distribution centers in Louisiana and Texas. As Big 7 Trucking took hold, word began to spread, and by the mid- 1980s, Don and his new trucking company served most of the motorcycle dealers in the state of Arkansas. Throughout the 1980/90s, Big 7 Trucking grew and expanded, eventually focusing on refrigerated transport for the largest chicken producer in Arkansas. Don and his team would focus on “chicken haulin” (as so many of us called it) until 2010.

Don had a strong personality and high level of confidence in his instincts and abilities and generally wasn’t shy about letting his employees and friends know about it if they were “headed in the wrong direction”. Apart from getting a little angry sometimes, Don was generous with his time, talents, and resources, and he would never hesitate to help a friend or even a stranger in need. Don would literally give someone the shirt off his back if he thought it was needed.

If you were around the Honda shop in the 1970/80/90s, you likely participated in morning coffee at the parts counter or might have joined DD for one of his famous breakfast or lunch gatherings, many of which Don would be the first to “grab the ticket” and cover the bill. The gatherings often generated an engaging level of conversations and could get a little deep – there’s no doubt many of the solutions to the world’s problems were developed by the back and forth banter at these gatherings.

While Don believed in working hard, he also lived a life that emphasized playing hard. If it had an engine and wheels, there’s a good chance Don had driven it, raced it, or even flown it. He earned his pilot’s license in the 1970s and regularly flew into the 1980s. He raced flat track motorcycles at the Benton Speedbowl, raced Turkey Runs through the woods of Camp Robinson, drove drag cars, and even tried dirt track modified car racing for a brief time in the 1990s. There were many bumps, bruises and broken bones along the way, but this temporary pain was a small price to pay for the lifetime of memories it gave him.

Don was also an avid outdoorsman and loved to hunt and fish. He was a junior world champion duck caller in the World’s Championship Duck Calling competition in Stuttgart. He loved being outside in the country, spending many days casually driving his “leaf” truck, offroad motorcycle, or 4 wheeler down dirt trails and roads. He also enjoyed cruising the back roads of Arkansas on his pavement motorcycles.

Running two businesses and having a full schedule of recreation wasn’t enough to keep Don busy, so the other way he sought to relax was by farming. It was his endeavor that carried him back to his boyhood roots. He tended to a 100+ acre farm for much of the 1980/90s, but his favorite farming time was spent over much of the last 40 years serving as a farm hand driving a tractor and making memories with his friends in Des Arc.

During his last 20 years at home in Scott and England, Don found many ways to stay busy, spending considerable time tending to his yard, working on the neighbor’s lawn mowers, piddling in the garage, and taking care of any other projects he could find. We are all given a life ticket to use as we see fit. It’s no stretch of the truth to say that Don Diamant took full advantage of his life ticket over the last 86 years.

Special thanks go to Hospice of Pine Bluff and Lisa Elliott (Doc, Tyler, Riley and Haley) for their caregiving assistance during Don’s final days.

Don leaves behind a full list of friends and family, including his wife Regina, former wife Patsy, daughter Michele (David), son Shane (Julie), grandkids Jake, Cody, Sam, Matthew, and Addison, and his favorite dog Jack.

A visitation is planned for February 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in North Little Rock at Smith Family Funeral Home, 1921 Main Street. At 11:00 a.m., there will be a celebration of life service at the same location. Interment will follow at Concord Cemetery near Lonoke, Arkansas.

In lieu of flowers, if you want to honor Don’s life, the family asks you to consider a donation to Potluck Food Rescue in North Little Rock.

Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home, 1921 Main St., North Little Rock, AR 72114. 501-758-1170.