Donald L. Ponciroli
Gales Ferry — Donald L. Ponciroli, 86, of Gales Ferry died suddenly at home Sunday, May 9, 2021. Don was born Nov. 21, 1934 in Boston, Mass., to Lawrence Ponciroli and Corrinne Main. Don married Anne Lisa Mackie in 1984; she survives him.
Don was from a New England family of meager means, but his life was a tapestry of unique events that offered unusual opportunities. Being an energetic young man, he variously held jobs exercising race horses and picking strawberries in New Jersey, and being a caddy at a golf course at Sakonnet Point, R.I., where his uncle was the greenskeeper.
Don enlisted in the U.S. Navy when he was 17, and had a full career in that service, first in Naval Aviation as a structural mechanic in Kingsville, Texas. He separated from the U.S. Navy after four years, and after short-term jobs as a milkman and working for a signage company he started work for Schlumberger, surveying and shooting oil wells in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. It was a job he enjoyed and spoke of many times throughout his life. While in Texas, he rode with real cowboys in his spare time. Don learned the art of leather carving, and learned saddle making at the King Ranch saddle shop in Kingsville, Texas.
After several years working in the oil fields, a recession found him without employment but with a family to care for. Don then rejoined the U.S. Navy and switched career paths, becoming a Submarine Sonar Technician. Don served on four submarines as an enlisted man, and two as an officer. He served as the Electronics Maintenance Officer for Submarine Squadron Ten and retired as a Chief Warrant Officer, after a total of 25 years of service to his country. Don was very grateful to the U.S. Navy for all of the opportunities it afforded “a poor kid from Boston.” He worked as a marketing representative for Honeywell’s Marine Systems Division out of Seattle, Wash., between 1975 and 1988, when he and his wife, Lisa, relocated to Southeastern Connecticut and Don joined Electric Boat
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Division in Groton.
He finally retired from the work force in 1999 and turned his full-time attention to building an aircraft from plans. After years of his work and that of several friends, it was an exciting day when he first launched the plane into the air, and more importantly, when he made a successful landing. In addition to carving leather, Don was a talented woodworker and carved and painted birds. The first bird he ever carved won third place in the Novice division, Shorebird category, at the prestigious Ward Foundation annual World Championship Carving Competition in 1986. Don loved his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and tried to help them any way he could. Dogs were constant and cherished companions for Don throughout his life.
Don was a determined man; quick to laugh; remembering anecdotes, especially from his U.S. Navy service, for decades, and not without strongly held views. But persistence may have been the quality that most defined his life. The following quotation is an apt description of his actions on a day-to-day basis: “Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” Don knew how important “pressing on” was, refused to give in to failures, and the great successes of his life stemmed from that belief.
Besides his wife Lisa, Don is survived by his five children, Roy (Patty), Donald Gene, Janelle, Scott (Nikki), and Christopher (Randi); as well as three stepdaughters, Laura, Lisa, and Bonnie (Troy) Campbell; older brother, Richard (Annette); a special niece, Donna (Bryce) Cerwensky; and two brothers-in-law, Jay (Debbie) and Tom Mackie. Don is also survived by more than 20 grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.
A celebration of Don’s life will be held 11 a.m. Monday, May 17, 2021. The family will greet friends from 10 a.m. until service time at the Byles Memorial Home, 99 Huntington St., New London. Entombment will be in Arlington National Cemetery. Please visit www. byles.com to sign the online register or to share a memory.