Obituary of Donald Anthony Sabino

On April 2, 2024 Donald Anthony Sabino fondly know as Husband, Dad, Grandpa, Papa, Uncle Don and Friend, was freed from his earthly body and went home to be with the Lord.

Don was born on October 23, 1931 in New Haven Connecticut to Anthony “Tony” and Matilda “Tillie” Sabino (Gianfredo). He was preceded in death by his parents and loving wife Dolores. Don is survived by his brother Paul (Margaret) Sabino; his three children, Joanne (John) Hudson, Cathy Morrison (Michael Brown), Anthony “Tony” (Karen) Sabino; eight grandchildren, Anthony (Michaela), Jacob, Justin (Chelsey) Petz, Brittany (Lindsey) Johnson, Kellen (Veronica) Morrison and Danica Morrison, Emily and Jessica Sabino; seven great grandchildren, Troy, Sullivan, Dominic, Macie, Forrest, Hazel, Zoey, and numerous loving nieces and nephews along with our chosen family, the Dudleys, Wayne, Julie, Collin, Austin and Bryan.

As a teen living in Watertown, Massachusetts one of his jobs was cleaning up the stadium after the baseball games at Fenway Park in Boston. He would ride the trolley from Watertown to the ball park. When the games ran late, he’d call home and get permission from his mom to stay because he needed to finish cleaning up. Little did she know he made sure he finished after the trolley stopped running for the day, so he could stay and sleep in the dugout.

Don loved sports. He played baseball and football in college for the University of Connecticut (UConn), coached the Army baseball team while stationed in Germany and umpired and officiated many sports for years after returning home to the states. Fun tidbit, there are pictures of him in college at spring football practice working on his kicking while still wearing his baseball uniform because he had to run from baseball practice to football practice with no time to change uniforms.

Don worked hard for everything he accomplished in life. He put himself through college on an Army ROTC scholarship, worked part time to earn extra money to send home to help support his mother and younger brother and played on the University of Connecticut baseball and football teams. He was the first in his family to earn a college degree. Don was in the process of completing his degree at UConn when he met a beautiful coed, Dolores Castellon on a blind date. They married on January 7th, 1956. They were on their honeymoon in the Adirondack Mountains when the Army notified Don of his Port of Call. The newlyweds were off to Germany for the next 18 months of active duty and traveling all over Europe. Upon returning from Germany Don and Dee settled down in Connecticut. There they began raising their family.

Don was one of the top producing salesmen for Pfizer Medical Corporation. He earned Top Salesman of the Year multiple times along with countless other sales awards in the company. In 1968 Pfizer promoted him to West Coast Sales Manager and Don and Dee moved their family from Newington Connecticut to Southern California where they remained. Don went on to win National Sales Manager of the Year annually for most of his remaining career with Pfizer Medical.

Don was dedicated in service to his church and local community. For over fifty years both Don and Dee were involved in many church and community service organizations and outreach programs. Don led a very active life, even after he retired from his career. He performed in community plays and musicals and was part of the Saint John Eudes Catholic Church choir. He also appeared in quite a few Nationally broadcasted television commercials. It was so much fun for his family and friends to be watching a television program or attending a professional hockey game when one of his commercials would randomly come on the screen or Jumbo Tron and they could say, “Hey, that’s my dad!!” or “Hey, I know him!!”

Certainly, the most important thing to Don was his family ~ Mia Famila. His commitment and dedication to them was unwavering. We are all so proud of you and the example you showed us of hard work, dedication and drive. You were determined to make a better life for your family and you did so with flying colors! We miss you more than we can ever express, but without a doubt you live on in all of us. You gave us so many wonderful memories - family first, fun vacations and so much more. Mom and you enjoyed traveling all over the world and instilled in us a love for learning and experiencing new things. We will never forget your words of wisdom (otherwise known as “Don’s Better Way”).

We are certain when Dad arrived at the pearly gates, Mom was there to greet him, most likely fussing at him about how he’s always late and she’d been waiting on him, (Yup, we could hear them bickering from here. Lol)

We all love you so very much and know that we were so very loved by you! We can feel you smiling down on us with your famous “Don Sabino” smile.

A memorial Mass will be held for Don at Saint John Eudes Catholic church, 9901 Mason Avenue, Chatsworth CA 91311 on Friday, April 19, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. (In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in his honor.)