Dr. Donald Rosato, a familiar figure on the box seat of his Rokeby coach, died earlier this month. A lifelong resident of Devon and Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, the four-in-hand driver was 90.
He was a regular winner in the coaching classes at the Devon Horse Show.
Dr. Donald Rosato in his favorite spot behind his team of horses.
Dr. Rosato earned a medical degree from Temple University, and a Ph.D. in Public Health from Harvard. An Army major and flight surgeon, he went on to take over his father’s medical practice in Devon, where his family lived for four generations after emigrating from Abruzzo, Italy.
In 2023, he was inducted as a Legend of the Devon Horse Show. An avid fox hunter, his passion for the sport was evident early as he followed Syl Quigley’s local pack on foot and later on his pony through southern Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties.
Decades later, Dr. Rosato was appointed Joint Master of the Hunt at Pickering in Kimberton, Pa. Dr. Rosato was a member and served on several boards of charitable, historic, and social organizations, as well as having donated many coach rides to benefit various charities.
He appreciated the classics in literature and music, especially opera. Donald is survived by his wife, Judith Miller Rosato, and three sons from his first marriage to the late Lillian Anna Hirschbeck Wister: Thomas (and his wife, Judy), Donald, and Robert.