Vincent William Donato

Vincent W. Donato, 89, a resident of Centennial, CO died on 15 March 2016 at Swedish Hospital. Vince was born 2 June 1926 to Aronne and Delia DiDonato in the Bloomfield area of Pittsburgh, PA. He served in the Army Infantry during WWII and received the Purple Heart. Married Mary (Betty) Loos (Fleming) on 20 June 1953 and they had 5 children and he adopted Betty†™s daughter Maribeth. He received a BS Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Carnegie Tech (now Mellon) University in 1950. He received an MS Degree in Mathematics from Ohio State University in 1953. Vince worked as an aircraft engineer at Bell Aircraft in Buffalo, NY, then North American Aviation in Columbus, OH, and finally as an aerospace engineer in the Dynamics Group at Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin), in Denver, CO where he retired. Vince played all the major sports growing up along with all his brothers, but loved and excelled at football which he played through his undergraduate time at Carnegie Tech as defensive captain. Upon arriving in Colorado he learned to hike, backpack, and climb 14†™ers. He also was a talented writer. Internment will take place at Ft. Logan National Cemetery on 29 March 2016 at 12:15pm and a remembrance gathering will follow at Baldoria on the Water at 146 Van Gordon St., Lakewood, CO from 1 to 3. Food and drink will be served. Survived by sons Doug, Scot, Russ, Garth, daughter Kim, and his adopted step-daughter Maribeth, 8 grandchildren, and one great granddaughter. Surviving siblings include Armido, Victor, and Anna. He was preceded in death by parents Aronne and Delia, spouse Betty, and brother Ferdnand. Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society in Vince†™s memory. Online remembrances and condolences may be left at Doug.donato@gmail.com