Donald A. DiChiara

Donald Anthony DiChiara, a resident of Pawlet, Vermont, died peacefully though unexpectedly, at hishome on April 7, 2025. He was born and raised in Yonkers, NY, where he was a local legend on football fields and baseball diamonds alike. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1956, where he quarterbacked the football team to an undefeated season his senior year. He studied Psychology at Colgate University, where he played football, was an All-American baseball player, and sang for the Colgate 13 -the oldest all-male a cappella group in the United States. He went on to play in the minor leagues for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in the early 1960s, and was a proud member of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Don married his high school sweetheart, Susan, in 1963 and they raised three children in Ardsley, New York and then in Chatham, New Jersey. Don had a long and varied career in finance in New York City, while remaining true to his lifelong passions - sports and music. He was always present and involved in the athletic endeavors of his children, coached baseball and soccer, performed in local musical theater productions, and delighted people with his resonant voice whether on stage or off.

Leaving the city and the suburbs behind, he built a home in Pawlet, where he embraced the quiet life… his morning cup of coffee looking out at the rolling hills with his “bride” as he would say; walks with his canine companions; skiing and golfing; sitting around the warmth of a good fire in conversation orabsorbed in a book; and taking great pride in caring for his property, enamored by the rumble of his Ford 9N tractor. Don’s ability to tell a great story, his love of laughter and sense of humor, his kind and outgoing nature, all defined his spirited life.

He will be dearly missed by his wife, Susan; his three children Karin, Donnie, and Michael; sister Gloria;and six grandchildren Samuel, Jackson, Isabelle, Max, Jake, and Emily.

A memorial service will be held at Christ Our Savior Parish in Manchester, VT on Friday May 30, 2025 at 11:00 am.