Donald A. Coscarelli

Born in a small apartment in the Mt. Washington section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 11, 1928 to Antoinette 'Jeanette' (nee Petrone) and Angelo Coscarelli of Calabria, Italy, Donald A. Coscarelli (then known as "Dom" for Domenico, his given birth name) was raised in a home where good food, family, and love were valued above all else. Surrounded by women - his remarkable mother (who lived to be 95) and his three sisters Gilda, Velma, and Loretta - Don was the only boy and was doted on accordingly. Following his multigenerational male role models, his work ethic and intelligence made him a successful and determined young man. As a young boy, he studied violin, did well in school, and took the occasional trip to Atlantic City with his uncles.

Following high school, Don was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point from which he graduated in 1950. He often delighted his grandchildren with stories of his time at West Point; the friends he made, the lessons he learned, and the amount of time he spent standing tall and marching around in his uniform. Following graduation, he spent 10 years in the Air Force working primarily as a contracting officer. His first assignments were to multiple bases in Texas, Colorado, and New Jersey.

In 1951 he was on temporary duty at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and missed his flight back to Pittsburgh. He took the next available flight - on a TWA DC-3 - and it was what he recalled as "the best decision of his life." On that flight he met TWA flight attendant Shirley Mae Tyer (later to be known as Kate) from St. Louis, Missouri who became his best friend and wife of 48 years. Their second official date was the Army-Navy game in 1951 and they were married in April of 1952 in the chapel at West Point. They spent just 10 days together before Don was sent on his first international assignment in Tripoli, Libya. Three months later, Kate joined him at Wheelus Air Force Base and they were stationed there until October 1954. Their son Don Jr. was born during their time in Libya and living in North Africa remained one of the most memorable experiences of their lives.

Following their time in Libya, Don was then stationed in Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona where their daughter Anne (nee Cyndie) was born. Shortly thereafter, they were moved to Indiana in 1956 where Don was assigned to Purdue University. He graduated in 1957 with a Masters in Business. He was in the first graduate MBA program at Purdue which was later named the Krannert School of Management. His final assignment in the Air Force was at the Ballistic Missile Center in Los Angeles until 1960 where he participated in the contracting and procurement of rocket engines in the midst of the Cold War to try to surpass the Russians in a program of research and production.

Following his resignation from the Air Force, Don formed his own investment management and brokerage firm, DAC Investment Co., Inc., where he offered financial planning with stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities, and term life insurance. His firm pioneered the use of low-cost term life insurance which, over time, became the accepted alternative in the industry. He helped start Anchor National Life which was successfully acquired by Sun Life, and then American International Group (AIG).

As an active member of his Southern California community, Don was a member of the Rotary Club, Boys Club, the local hospital foundation board, and the PTA. In the early 60's he was elected to two terms on the Los Alamitos School Board and served as President for two years, introducing programs involving dual language in grade school, summer enrichment programs, and incentives for teacher education, among others. In addition to the programs he ushered in, while on the School Board he fought against extremists who wanted 12 of 18 textbooks banned as "Communist-Inspired" and sheltered the educational system from extremists who attacked Jewish School Board members and teachers from character assassinations in the 60's.

Don and Kate raised their children in Los Alamitos and Long Beach and later, as grandparents, moved to Century City, California where they continued to live for the rest of their lives. Their son Don Jr. was interested in making movies during his teenage years and became a successful writer, director, producer of feature films including Beastmaster and the Phantasm series. Their daughter Anne received her Ph.D. in psychology and was the Founding Director of the Simms/Mann UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology where she dedicated her life to helping individuals cope with cancer for 25 years. In 2017 she was honored with the Darcie Denkert Notkin Director of Psychosocial Oncology Care and holds academic appointments in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, and is now retired as Adjunct Emerita Professor of Medicine.

Don's beloved wife Kate became a New York Times bestselling author after starting to write at the age of 56. She published 6 novels in her lifetime, with Don ever the champion by her side. In 1992 she was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) which slowly robbed her of her muscle function. Don remained a devoted and loving husband who diligently cared for her day and night through the debilitating disease. She was the great love of his life and her death in 1999 remained a profound sorrow in his life.

Despite the loss of his beloved, Don continued to relish in the joyful moments of life. He continued to watch the stock market and be the financial advisor for the family, something he was quite good at and took much pride in - despite his mood sometimes being reflected by the NASDAQ closing numbers.

After being widowed, Don is survived by Anna Maria Alberghetti with whom he shared a long companionship and who brought the joy of music and social outings back into his life. They enjoyed many delicious meals together, traveling, and nights at the theater.

In addition to his two children and their spouses, Don is survived by 4 grandchildren and their spouses, as well as 6 great-grandchildren. He was a dedicated and loyal man who was most proud of his family. He believed in duty, honor, love, truth, and persistence, and he had both physical and moral strength and courage. He was known to always say "get something you really like" whenever at dinner and though his grandchildren teased him about it, it spoke volumes to who he was and what he wanted for his family - happiness, and of course, a good meal.

Don was loved and cared for by his family through his last breath and he was grateful that the love he gave was abundantly returned to him.

He will be greatly missed and remembered as the tender, loving, generous, and brilliant man that he was.

Don will be laid to rest at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park in a small private burial. In lieu of flowers or food, the family asks that donations be made to support Dr. Brandon Koretz in the UCLA Division of Geriatrics who thoughtfully cared for Don in his later years.

To donate, please visit: https://www.engage.ucla.edu/Coscarelli