Donald Elwood "Ace" Antoine

Donald Elwood (Ace) Antoine Jr., formerly of Benton Twp., passed away March 2 at his home in San Antonio, Fla. His wife of 47 years is the former Susan James, originally from Dalton.

Born July 17, 1953, in Scranton, he was the son of Donald Elwood Antoine Sr. and the late Shirley Watson Antoine. A 1971 graduate of Lackawanna Trail High School, Donald worked in construction before joining his father when Antoines Timbering was founded in 1974. Ace was an active member of the Dalton Fire Company and later planned his family vacations to coincide with the fire company carnivals, and the Antoine and James families usually could be found in the clam tent.

He was an avid hunter, fisherman and sports fan and an antique-car enthusiast. Donald and Susan were extremely active in the Dalton and Benton communities as they started a family and appeared destined to become long-term fixtures.

But, in 1986, Donald and Susan decided to take a calculated risk to pursue their long-held desire to move to a warmer climate. Not surprisingly, they settled on San Antonio, a town much like Dalton and Benton. With the warm personality of a comedian, Ace had no trouble making friends or finding a job.

He began working as a carpenter for Arthur Ruttenburg Homes and helped construct the homes of many celebrities. Donald and Susan instantly became fixtures in the San Antonio community as they became active in St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church and followed their children's activities in school and in sports. Like his father, Ace enjoyed sharing his love for baseball and coached his two sons and rarely missed one of his daughter's soccer games or cross-country meets.

Eventually, Ace became a superintendent for Ruttenburg Homes and later started his own company, Quality Check Property Management. Unfortunately, Donald was diagnosed with a heart problem in 1998. But that didn't stop him from living life to its fullest. He continued to work and remained positive at every stop.

The most important thing in Donald's life was his family and he watched proudly as sons, Dale (Laura) and Kendale (Carly), and daughter, Kendra (Jason Jankowski), got married and started families of their own.

Donald is survived by grandchildren, Cole, Aubrey, Addison and Nolan Jankowski, of San Antonio; and Nora, Henry and Annabelle Antoine, of Wesley Chapel, Fla.

Although Donald was told he needed a heart transplant three years ago, he enjoyed spending quality time with his grandchildren. As time began to run out, Donald told his family he had no regrets and strongly believed he led the life he wanted to live.

Also surviving are sisters, Rebecca Aten, Debbie Thomas and Debbie Garrison; and brothers, Robert Antoine and Ray Harmon.

A memorial service was held at St. Anthony of Padua on Saturday. A celebration of life service will be held in Dalton this summer. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Ace's memory be made to the Tampa General Hospital Heart Transplant Unit (P.O. Box 1289, Tampa, FL 33601).