Donato James Summa, Ph.D.

Donato James Summa,78, of Dunmore, passed away on Sunday, October 20th, after a battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Donato leaves behind his beloved wife, Ann Summa (née Sciortino), his sister, Vita Malinak (née Summa), his three sons, Christopher (Stacey), Jason, and Brian (Delila Omerbašić), all of New Orleans, and his three grandchildren Rocco Alexander Summa, Isabella Louise Summa, and Remy Elliot Omerbašić Summa. Nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and cousins. Donato was preceded in death by his father, Dominic James Summa of Dunmore, his mother, Grace Summa (née Rinaldi) of Dunmore, and his wife, Elizabeth Jane Summa (née Semenza), of Old Forge, who was the mother of his three sons.

Donato is an alumnus of St. Anthony’s Elementary School and Scranton Preparatory School and received his B.S. in Mathematics from East Stroudsburg University.  He obtained his M.S. degree from the University of Scranton and his Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in Educational Psychology.

Donato spent his entire life as an educator and instilled the love of learning in his sons and his students.  He was a longtime teacher and head of the Math Department at Dunmore High School and, before retirement, served as an administrator at Dunmore Elementary Center.  In addition, he taught college courses at the Penn State Worthington Scranton campus and Keystone College.  At Dunmore High School, he was affectionately known as “Slick” (initially), then “Doc” (after he earned his Ph.D.).  In the 70’s, he was the driving force behind the student-talent show Shindig and acted as the performers’ faculty advisor.

Donato enjoyed watching the Yankees and Penn State football games, playing and listening to music, creating stained glass artwork, sneaking treats to his dogs, and gardening in his spare time. He was a quiet man and mainly spoke only when he had something important to say, a trait he passed on to his sons.

Donato was a member of Saints Anthony and Rocco Parish.

The funeral will be Friday from the Carlucci-Golden-DeSantis Funeral Home, 318 E. Drinker St. in Dunmore with a funeral mass at 9:30am at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 301 Smith St. in Dunmore.

Interment, Dunmore Cemetery.

Family and friends may pay their respects on Thursday from 4-6pm at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider a donation in his name to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105 or the Penn State Scranton Nursing Program (Penn State Scranton Department of Development, 120 Ridgeview Dr., Dunmore, PA, 18512.

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