Bridgewater-Donald B. DeLutis Sr., 72, of Bridgewater, died peacefully Sunday, March 30, 2008. He was the husband of Evelyn (Ekberg) DeLutis and son of the late Salvatore and Lucy DeLutis of Mansfield.
Don was the father of Stephanie Ryan and her husband Lonnie Ataman, Donald DeLutis Jr. and his wife Gretchen and David DeLutis and his wife Karen; brother of Judith Cassidy of Mansfield and the late Sally DeLutis; and grandfather of Brendan Ryan, Emily Ryan, Stephanie Ataman, Rebecca Ataman, Devin DeLutis, Joshua DeLutis and Justin DeLutis.
Don was born and educated in Mansfield and graduated from Coyle High School in 1953.
He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1957 to 1963 as an Airman First Class. He also played shortstop for the Spangdahlem, Germany Air Force baseball team.
He graduated Bridgewater State College in 1963 with a bachelor of science in Education and received a master's degree in Education in 1973. Don taught in Bridgewater schools from 1963 through 1979 and served as a school principal until his retirement in 1994.
During the 39 years that he lived in Bridgewater, he coached Little League baseball and was president of the Bridgewater Little League, was a member of the Lion's Club and was active in the community of St. Basil's Chapel.
Don was a counselor at and then director of Camp Clark in Plymouth from 1960 to 1975. He also most recently served as a member and chair of the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School Committee and a member of the Bridgewater Building Committee, responsible for the new middle school and the renovation of the old high school.
He was a member of the National Education Association, Mass Teachers Association and Bridgewater Teachers Association. In 2006, Don received the Nicholas P. Tillinghast Award for Outstanding Leadership and Professional Achievement in the Field of Public Education from Bridgewater State College.
First and foremost, Don was an advocate for the quality education of children.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday, April 4, 2008, at 10:30 a.m. in St. Mary's Church, Rte. 106, Mansfield. Burial will be in St. Thomas Aquinas Cemetery, Center Street, Bridgewater, following the funeral Mass. Visiting hours for Mr. DeLutis will be at Prophett Funeral Home, 98 Bedford St. (Rte. 28), Bridgewater, Thursday, April 3, 2008, from 3 to 8 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the B-R Citizens Scholarship Foundation, for the Donald B. DeLutis Sr. Memorial Scholarship, P.O. Box 380, Bridgewater, MA 02324.