Donata A. Dell’Olio, 64, died quietly at her home on Sunday, June 5, after a lengthy illness. She left this life in comfort, at peace, and surrounded by her family and friends. It should come as a surprise to nobody who knew her that she maintained her wit, toughness, and dignity until the very end.
Born in North Plainfield, N.J., Donata was a graduate of the then-named Rider College, now known as Rider University, in Lawrenceville, N.J., having earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology. In the 1980s, she was vice-president of the personnel department at First Fidelity Bank in Newark, N.J., a position she held until the birth of her second child. During this time, she also taught SAT prep classes at Bruriah High School for Girls in Elizabeth, N.J., before moving with her family to Pennsylvania in 1993.
Donata’s later professional life was dedicated almost exclusively to the service of others. She spent several years as a classroom aid at Penncrest High School, where she worked to support students with physical disabilities. Most recently she was employed by the ARC of Chester County for nearly 15 years. During her time with the ARC, Donata specialized in finding and maintaining employment for adults with developmental disabilities, and worked with tireless enthusiasm and endless patience to ensure that members of our society who are often marginalized were given both the opportunity and the tools to live dignified, productive, meaningful lives. Her work touched countless families in Chester County and when, in 2003, she was given her organization’s award for Caregiver of the Year, it was said by the mother of one of her clients that “Donata must be an angel in disguise.”
In her free time, Donata enjoyed with characteristic gusto some of life’s simplest pleasures. She loved gardening and beautifying her home, good food and drink, catching up on her shows and, perhaps above all else, to bury her nose in a good book. She relished the company of her family and friends, all of whom will agree that she knew how to throw a hell of a party.
Donata is survived by her son Robert P. Sand III and his wife Katherine, of Secane; her son Daniel A. Sand of Philadelphia; her sister Stephanie Luchino and her husband Bob, of Mountainside, N.J.; her brother Michael Dell’Olio, his wife Linda, and their three daughters, Christine, Katelyn, and Emily, of North Plainfield, N.J.; numerous cousins and in-laws; and her grandson Jacob R. Sand, all of whom she loved very deeply. She was preceded in death by her parents Donato and Beatrice Dell’Olio, and her husband Robert P. Sand Jr., with whom she shared 18 years of marriage.
You are invited to visit with her family and friends from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, June 11, at the Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home, 250 West State Street in Kennett Square. Her Funeral service will follow at 11. Burial will be private.
Donata believed very deeply in the value of the work she did. As such, in lieu of flowers, her family encourages you to make a donation in her name to the ARC of Chester County, 900 Lawrence Dr. West Chester, PA 19380.
Online condolences may be made by visiting www.griecocares.com
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