Owner of King’s Upholstery in Newtonville
Published in the July 9, 2015
BURLINGTON — Daniel Anthony DiDonato, owner of King’s Upholstery in Newtonville, passed away after a short battle with pancreatic cancer on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. He was only 58 years old.
Dan was born in Malden. He grew up in North Reading and was a graduate of North Reading High School. Dan found at an early age that he was talented in the trade of upholstery. With his father and later his son Tony, he ran King’s Upholstery in Watertown and later Newtonville for roughly 40 years. He was not only talented but a bit of an artist. He specialized in customizing interiors of antique cars and worked on boats and even airplanes. He loved the many challenging projects his customers brought to him and took pride in ensuring each job was completed with the highest level of quality. He loved seeing his customers’ expressions when they returned to see how Dan had rejuvenated their vehicles and had many long-time loyal customers whom he also considered friends.
Dan was not a man who could sit idly. He would come home from a long day at work and go right outside to work around his home. His back yard was his pride and joy. He would spend hours working on his grass, landscaping, pool, patio, deck and garden. Dan had an open door policy and loved having family and friends over to enjoy his backyard oasis. He could fix anything from cars, household items, furniture, clothing or any other item that needed to be stitched or repaired. He loved old cars and his 1973 ‘Cuda was his prized possession. He enjoyed boating and watching movies with the family, was a member of Burlington’s Medical Reserve Corps and recently had even gotten into storm tracking. He was a big supporter of his children in all facets of their lives, whether it was when they played soccer, hockey and field hockey, to their career decisions or their life choices. He was so looking forward to walking his daughter down the aisle at her wedding in July and was also eagerly awaiting the birth of his second grandchild. Dan was a fan of the Bruins and Patriots and enjoyed vacations to Italy, Niagara Falls, and Kentucky to visit his family. He has left his mark in all aspects of his home and leaves his wife and children with memories filled with love and kindness.
Dan was the loving husband of 33 years to Ruth (McCusker) DiDonato. He was the loving father of Daniel “Tony” DiDonato II of Newton, Claire DiDonato of Quincy, Christopher DiDonato and his wife Amanda of Wilmington, Stephen DiDonato of North Andover and Laura DiDonato and her fiancé Matthew Doyle of North Reading. He was the son of Paul DiDonato and his wife Sue of Shelbyville, Ky. and the late Joyce DiDonato. He was the brother of Scott of Watertown and Linda Heines and her husband Mickey of Louisville, Ky. He was the proud grandfather of Anthony DiDonato. His funeral was held from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington on Tuesday, July 7 at 9 a.m. followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Margaret Church, 111 Winn St., Burlington at 10 a.m. Visiting hours were Monday from 4–8 p.m. The interment was private. Memorials in Dan’s name may be made to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute-Jimmy Fund, P.O. Box 849168, Boston MA 02284-9168 or www.JimmyFundGiving.org.
