Donald Lee “Bones” Cavalero, age 88, of Butler, passed away Tues., May 31, 2022 in Butler Memorial Hospital.
Born in Butler on March 22, 1934, he was a son of the late Samuel Cavalero, Sr. and Mary Elizabeth Fetterman Cavalero.
He was employed for 35 years as a schoolteacher at Butler Junior High School.
He was a devoted and faithful member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.
He was a veteran of the U.S. Army.
Bones graduated from Butler High School in 1952 and Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1956. He was an outstanding basketball player in high school and college. A four-year letterman at IUP, he was inducted into the Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and the IUP Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.
He served for many years as an assistant basketball coach at Butler High School. He was also an avid golfer.
He was a past president of the Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame.
Since 1994, Bones was a dedicated volunteer with Butler Meals on Wheels. He was a proud member of the Pennsylvania Voters Hall of Fame, an acknowledgment of his voting in 50 consecutive years of primary and general elections.
He is survived by his wife, Susan Maxine Freehling Cavalero, whom he married April 22, 1960; three sons, Jeffrey Cavalero, of Butler, Randal Cavalero and his wife, Diane, of Butler, Stephen Cavalero and his wife, Renae, of Butler; two grandchildren, Shannon Cavalero, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Tanner Cavalero, of Butler; two brothers, Gordon Cavalero, of Butler, and David Cavalero, of Butler; and a number of nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one brother, Samuel Cavalero, Jr.; and two sisters, Patricia Schaffer and Chervyl Leonard.
Friends will be received in the Martin Funeral Home, Inc., 429 Center Ave., Butler, on Thursday from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Funeral services will take place on Friday at 11 a.m. at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 201 W. Jefferson St., Butler, with Rev. David M. Phillips, senior pastor, officiating.
Burial will follow in Butler County Memorial Park.