Donald Jupena

Donald G. “Dux” Jupena, 89, of Greensburg (Unity Township) died Sunday, November 5, 2017 in Brookdale Latrobe.  He was born at home on Locust Street in Jeannette on July 5, 1928, a son of the late Stephen F. and Mary E. Getto Jupena.  He was a member of Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, Greensburg.  Donald graduated from Jeannette High School class of 1945 and from Penn State University in 1949 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering.  At Penn State he was a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and the ROTC program.  He was a veteran, serving stateside as a First Lieutenant with the Air Force during the Korean War where he was an instructor in radio and communications to his superiors.  During Donald’s working career in the machine tool industry he worked for Bardens and Oliver, Inc. of Cleveland Ohio, as a district representative; Kennametal Inc. of Latrobe, as a product manager; Motch and Merryweather Machinery Co. of Pittsburgh, as a sales engineer; before retiring as vice president of sales in 1988 from Brown and Zortman Machinery Company. He belonged to ASME, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and SME, Society of Manufacturing Engineers where he chaired a number of the chapter’s technical programs. He also belonged to B.P.O.E. # 907, Latrobe, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Jeannette, the Jeannette American Legion and was a life member of the PSU Alumni Association.  An avid golfer, Donald formerly was on the board of directors of Wildwood Country Club, Pittsburgh when it was first established. He was a former member of Ligonier Country Club.  Donald served on the homeowner’s association board of Unity Square for numerous years. He was an accomplished bridge player in mens and couples bridge.  He and Pat enjoyed their travels throughout most of the lower 48 states as well as a special trip to Europe where he reconnected with Italian relatives in his mother’s hometown in Italy.  His family has many fond memories of summer vacations at the Jersey Shore.  In retirement, he and Pat spent quite a bit of time relaxing at their property in Hilton Head, SC.  Donald enjoyed time spent with family, particularly his grandchildren and great grandchildren where he could tell stories of the “old days” or point out the night time constellations. He enjoyed working around the house, his children’s’ homes and on his cars where he was known to be able to fix just about everything. He also had a love of music, played the piano and was an excellent dancer. He enjoyed his PSU football games, attending many, beginning in the 1940s and continuing until the last few years.   In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by an infant granddaughter, Theresa Romano and a son in law, Joseph Romano.   Donald is survived by his wife of 67 years, Patricia “Pat” Beckner Jupena; daughters, Nancy Mitchell (Bernard) of Scottsdale, AZ, Carol Romano of Hilton Head, SC and Patricia “Patsy” Beggs (Rick) of Greensburg; a son, Stephen D. Jupena (Terese) of Greensburg; 7 grandchildren, Carla and Paul Mitchell, Julia Scholz (Jason), Rachael and John Romano, Anne and John Jupena; 2 great granddaughters, Eleanor and Margaret Jude Scholz.  Family and friends will be received on Friday from 3-7 PM at Kepple-Graft Funeral Home, 524 North Main Street, Greensburg.  Prayers of transfer will be recited in the funeral home on Saturday at 9 AM followed by Donald’s funeral mass at 9:30 AM in Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, 300 North Main Street Greensburg.  Interment will follow in St. Clair Cemetery with military honors by Jeannette American Legion Post 344.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.  The Jupena Family would like to thank the staff at Brookdale Latrobe for the wonderful care of Donald.  For online condolences, please visit www.kepplegraft.com.