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Birth:          26 Oct 1930 Winslow, Camden Co., N.J.
Death:          22 Jun 1999 Philadelphia, Pa.
Burial:         26 Jun 1999 Oak Grove Cemetery, Hammonton, N.J.

Notes
!PUBL
Perna Fam Tree on ancestry
1940 in Winslow, Camden Co., N.J.
US Soc Sec Death Idx on ancestry
findagrave inscr YN3 USN
US Soc Sec Apps and Claims on ancestry
DONIO, SR, SAMUEL A., 68, prominent local attorney and lifelong Hammonton area 
resident, died Tuesday, June 22 at the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania. He was 
68. 

Mr. Donio was widely known in South Jersey for his active law practice, a career that 
spanned 45 years, up to the day of his death. He served a wide variety of clients and 
is perhaps best known for his legal work for education. 

Son of the late Frank Donio and the late Millie Donio nee LaManna. Mr. Donio was 
born and raised in the family homestead in Rosedale. He spent his young years 
working family farms and in the family produce wholesale business before answering to 
his calling, the practice of law. 

Mr. Donio graduated from St. Joseph's High School in Hammonton in 1948, where he 
was a champion basketball player with a trademark "scoop" shot. He attended St. 
Joseph's University in Philadelphia, where he was on the Dean's List and graduated in 
1952 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science.

Then, Mr. Donio attended Rutgers School of Law in Camden. There he was a division 
editor and member of the board of editors of the Rutgers Law Review. He graduated 
with honors in 1955. He met his wife of 43 years, Diane L. DiMarino, while commuting 
by train to his law classes in Camden. 

He became a member of the New Jersey Bar in 1955 and then served in the United 
States Navy from 1955 to 1957. He then began the private practice of law, which he 
always maintained as a general practice, personally handled a wide variety of matters 
for hundreds of clients. At the time of his death, Mr. Donio was senior partner of Donio 
Bertman and Donio, a general practice firm that now includes his daughter, Ann, and 
one of his sons, William. His practice included commercial transactions, real estate, 
educational law and commercial litigation. 

In his work, Mr. Donio combined a passion for the practice of law with strong feelings 
about the importance of education. Mr. Donio served local communities-especially 
schools-in his law practice. He has been the Solicitor of the Hammonton Board of 
Education since 1973, the Solicitor for the Linwood Board of Education since 1982. At 
various times Mr. Donio also served as solicitor for the school boards of Egg Harbor 
City, Hamilton Township and Washington Township, the solicitor of the planning board 
of the Township of Winslow, and the municipal solicitor of Hammonton, Winslow and 
the Borough of Folsom. And he was a founding member of the Board of Trustees of 
Atlantic Community College in Mays Landing. 

Mr. Donio is a former member of the Hammonton Kiwanis Club. Mr. Donio also served 
on the Supreme Court of New Jersey Ethics Committee in Atlantic County. 

In addition to his busy law practice, Mr. Donio remained active in the produce 
business his father founded. Mr. Donio was Vice President of Donio Trucking, a 
director of Frank Donio Inc., and a partner of Donio Leasing. 

Mr. Donio is survived by his wife of 43 years, Diane L. Donio nee DiMarino; son 
Samuel A. Donio, Jr. and daughter-in-law Nancy Donio, of Farmingdale; daughter Ann 
M. Donio, Esq. and son-in-law David Enscoe of Hammonton; son Paul J. Donio of New 
York City; son Robert F. Donio and daughter-in-law Michele Watson Donio of 
Hammonton; and son William S. Donio, Esq. and fiance Nicole Sellaro, of Hammonton; 
sister Annabel Donio Arena and his brother, Frank G. Donio, both of Hammonton, four 
grandchildren, Anna Marie Donio, Abigail Diane Donio, David Donio Enscoe, and 
Janey Donio Enscoe, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and relatives. 

Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, June 26 at 9:30 a.m. at Saint Martin de 
Porres Roman Catholic Church, South Egg Harbor Road, Hammonton. Burial will follow 
at Oak Grove Cemetery, Hammonton. Visitors may call Friday after 6.00 p.m. at 
Marinella Funeral Home, 102 North Third Street, Hammonton. 

In commemoration, donations may be made to a foundation established in his honor by 
his children, The Samuel A. Donio Foundation for Education, P.O. Box 88, 
Hammonton, N.J. 08037.
Press of Atlantic City, The (NJ) - Thursday, June 24, 1999

Parents
DONIO Francesco (Frank) (9 Jul 1898 - 2 Aug 1971)
LAMANNA Emila (Millie) (13 Sep 1901 - 28 Oct 1988)

Siblings
DONIO Annabelle ()
DONIO Samuel Alfred (26 Oct 1930 - 22 Jun 1999)
DONIO Frank Gabriel (9 Nov 1938 - 1 Jan 2011)

Marriage To DI MARINO Diane L. ()
    m. 1956 

Notes


Children by DI MARINO Diane L. 
DONIO Samuel Alfred ()
DONIO Ann Marie ()
DONIO Paul J. ()
DONIO Robert F. ()
DONIO William S. ()

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