Donna Lee DiLoreto

Beautiful and full of energy. Fast to befriend. Treated everyone as though they were special. An adventurer who thrived on new experiences. Strong family ties and pride. Caring and giving with an infinite capacity for love.

Donna Lee was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, to William Lincoln Pyle and Elizabeth Georgia Capp Pyle. She was the eldest of four siblings. After graduating from Ambridge High School, she attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the Universidad de Valladolid in Spain where she earned an undergraduate degree in the Spanish language. She later attended the Monterey Institute for Foreign Studies to earn a master’s degree in Spanish. She taught Spanish in many high schools in her teaching career, and she enthusiastically taught all aspects of the Spanish culture along with the language. She maintained her friendship with a Spanish family who befriended her during her studies in Valladolid, and they titled her “the most Spanish of the Americans.”

Donna Lee had a whirlwind courtship with United States Marine Corps officer Vincent DiLoreto, quickly culminating with their wedding at St. Peter’s cathedral in Erie, Pennsylvania, on 7 January 1967. She courageously endured the family separation and the frequent relocations in their twenty-four year Marine Corps career. Donna Lee was fond of saying, “If you think it’s hard being a Marine, try being a Marine’s wife,” and she was a loyal, supportive spouse during years of war and peace. Her maternal gifts shone through as she raised one daughter, Alison, who was born on 10 February 1970. To say she was proud of Alison would be a monumental understatement. She would repeatedly and eloquently wax that Alison was worth at least ten children.

In the next phase of her life, she continued to play an encouraging, active role assisting her husband as he transitioned to positions of higher responsibility through various companies in the aerospace industry. She continued to teach high school Spanish until the birth of her first grandson, Ross Leigber, in 2000. Without hesitation, she retired from teaching to become a full-time grandmother. She reveled in her new role as Ross was followed by grandsons Mitchell and Troy. Anyone who met Donna Lee was an immediate recipient of proud narratives and accompanying photos of the accomplishments of her beloved grandsons.

Donna Lee and Vincent retired to Austin, Texas, in 1999. She spent the golden years active in a myriad of social organizations where the major emphasis was travel, gourmet dining, and fine wine. She maintained a huge circle of local friends in addition to all the friends she valued from previous military and private sector careers. She will be greatly missed by all who were blessed with her friendship. We can take comfort in knowing that she packed an incredible amount of life into her eighty-two years on earth, she gave much more than she took, and she leaves behind a lasting legacy of generosity, kindness, and love.

Donna Lee was preceded in death by her father, William Lincoln Pyle, her mother, Elizabeth Georgia Capp Pyle, and her brother, William Lloyd Pyle. She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Vincent DiLoreto, her daughter Alison (DiLoreto) Leigber and son-in-law Chris Leigber, her sisters Betsy (Pyle) Shumway and Amy (Pyle) Baumann, and her grandsons, Ross Leigber, Mitchell Leigber, and Troy Leigber.