Donald “Sonny” Eugene Schramm

Deaths Elsewhere

Obituaries | The Tube City Almanac | January 02, 2022

Donald "Sonny" Eugene Schramm passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family on Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021, in Carbondale, Pa.

Sonny was born July 10, 1927, in Lonaconing to the Late Perry B. Schramm of Lonaconing and Ella Schramm of Waynesburg, Pa. He survived by his wife, Joanne Marie (Lane) Schramm, of Carbondale; and his six children, Deborah (Keith) Calisti, of North Versailles, Pa., Donald E. (Rita) Schramm Jr., of McKeesport, Michelle (Norman) Jordanhazy, of Newbury Park, Calif., Douglas Schramm, of Elizabeth, Pa., Matthew Schramm, of Carbondale, Toby Schramm, of Saint George, Utah; along with five grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Sonny grew up along Georges Creek in Cony and Barton.

In Grandma Schramm Store, he would sit on Lefty Grove's lap, listening to his uncles sing songs from Scotland. During the winters he would go by the railroad tracks and pick coal to heat the stove in the house. His family moved to Henry Street in Cumberland in 1938. He would sell newspapers at the B&O Railroad's Queen City Station in the mornings, and at night he would set bowling pins in town.

He worked for G.C. Murphy's in Cumberland and joined the Victory Farm Volunteers during the war. He worked on farms near Chestertown with other boys and girls to help supply the nation with food. In March of 1945 he joined the Navy. He was a Plank owner for the Destroyer O'Hare DD889.

He served in the Pacific Theater, where he was a gunner and a cook for the Chiefs. He was honorably discharged in May of 1946 and returned to work for Murphy's.

In 1948 he graduated from Allegany High School. He would continue to work for G.C. Murphy's in Wildwood, N.J., Waynesburg, Ligonier, York, Lemoyne, and McKeesport, Pa., for 40-plus years, where he ended up in the home office in the Fixture Department.

He was also a coach for the White Oak Athletic Association in White Oak, Pa. Sonny also operated his own landscaping business and a flower shop. He also worked at Walmart in Salisbury as one of the best People Greeters. He would tell a joke or sing a song at a drop of a hat. The man was meant for the stage.

The last year of his life he moved to Carbondale with his wife to live there with his son to help take care of him. He loved his family most of all. You could see it in his eyes every time he talked about them. He will be deeply missed.

He was preceded in death by his three siblings, Eleanor (Ownen) Chaney, of Ned, Pa., Norma (Roy) Mooney, of Cumberland, and Robert (Bobby) Schramm, of Waynesburg.

Please do not send flowers. Donations to the National Hospice, Dunmore, Pa., would be much appreciated. Funeral plans are still being arranged.

Originally published January 02, 2022.

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