Donald Lloyd Hershey OBITUARY

Donald Lloyd Hershey, 94, passed away after a brief illness in Spokane, Washington on February 11. He was surrounded by family. Born in Harrisburg on September 2, 1929, he was the youngest child of Carrie and Eli Hershey, a founder of Hershey’s Ice Cream. He attended Phillips Academy Andover, and Yale. He was in counterintelligence in the Army, and spent 5 years in Germany, working for Radio Free Europe, during which he fell in love with traveling, eventually visiting every continent except Australia. In Munich, he was married to Marianne Meyer who passed away a few years later. He married Edith Wright in Philadelphia in 1968 and had a home and his children in Berwyn. He later moved to Paoli, where he lived until 2022. He was divorced but still remained friendly with Edith, who passed away in 2007. He worked for SmithKline and French, and had a variety of positions after his retirement, including school bus driver, where he regaled a decade of children with his stories, and helped them practice their math and history lessons, all from behind the wheel. Donald was known for his vast intellect, breadth of knowledge, and interesting stories. He was a mentor to many young people who lived in his building in Paoli, all remaining lifelong friends. He loved stopping by local shops just to say hello and was a member of the local German language club, “Stammtisch.” His passion for flying began with his first solo flight at age 15, and he sat in the pilot or co-pilot seat of small planes into his 90s. He was the secretary of the Aero Club of Pennsylvania, and helped raise funds for scholarships to young aviators-in-training. In his last year, he lived in Spokane with his daughter Amanda and teenaged grandchildren, with whom he shared much meaningful time. Even to the end he was mentally sharp, and enjoyed walking to get the paper, discussing current events, and sightseeing. He was predeceased by his parents and siblings, Jake, Arlene and John. He is survived by his son Ian and his wife Stacey Baker, daughter Callie, her husband Michael Werner, and their daughter Wren, daughter Amanda Fields and her children Grace and Jasper, sister-in-law Vickie Hershey and her children, as well as nieces, nephews and cousins in Texas, Washington, Virginia and Pennsylvania. For more information about a celebration, please write to cahershey@aol.com. Donations in his memory can be made to the Aero Club of Pennsylvania: aeroclubpa.org/donate