May 8, 2013

Dr. William Colantoni, 96, of Richeyville, died at 4:35 a.m. Friday, May 3, 2013, in Southmont of Presbyterian SeniorCare, Washington.

He was born June 7, 1916, in Langeloth, a son of the late Nazareno and Finimoia Serragli Colantoni.

After graduation in 1935 from Centerville High School, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1935 to 1938. In 1941, he was called back to active duty and served as a pilot, bombardier and a navigator with the 306th Bomber Group flying the B17 Flying Fortress. On January 27, 1943, he served as the lead bombardier in the lead and first bombing group, 306th bomb group, to drop bombs over Germany. Also, he was credited with sinking a German submarine off the coast of Maine. His active duty ended in 1946, but he was not discharged from the Air Force Reserves until 1959. He attained the rank of major. He was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses, five Air Medals and a Silver Star. His campaign commendations include the European-African-Middle East Campaign Medal and American Defense Service Medal of World War II.

In 1946, he attended Waynesburg College during the day and at night. He worked in Weirton Coal Mine in Isabella as a mechanic and electrician.

Dr. Colantoni was a 1951 graduate of University of Pittsburgh Medical School in 1951 and served his internship at Southside Hospital in Pittsburgh. He established a private practice in Fredericktown in 1952. In 1957, he graduated from Pittsburgh Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital as an anesthesiologist.

He was a fellow in the American College of Anesthesiology and was a diplomat of the Medical College of Pain Management and American Medical Association and was a diplomat of the Board of Anesthesiology. He was a member of American Medical Association and Pennsylvania Medical Association. In 1971, he received his Nevada medical license.

From 1970 to 1972, he served as an emergency physician at Memorial Hospital in Las Vegas, Nev. He had served on the staff of Brownsville General Hospital, Westmoreland Hospital, Hershey Medical Center, St. Clair Hospital and Washington Hospital, until his retirement in 1997.

Dr. Colantoni was a member of St. Michael Archangel Roman Catholic Church of St. Oliver Plunkett Parish in Fredericktown. He was a charter member of Luzerne Township Volunteer Fire Department in Labelle and a member of Hanson-Cole American Legion Post 391 of Fredericktown.

On December 11, 1972, he married Marie Brown, who died March 17, 1998.

Surviving are a son, William Colantoni Jr., M.D., of Moline, Ill., and Davenport, Iowa; two grandchildren, William Colantoni III, D.O., of Lakewood, Colo., and Crista L. Colantoni of Woodbridge, Va.; two great-grandchildren, Maximus N. and Nickolas I. Colantoni, both of Lakewood; a sister, Thelma Ruscitti of Belle Vernon; a niece, Marie Harless of Richeyville; and a nephew, William Colantoni of Ohiopyle.

Deceased, in addition to his parents and wife, are two brothers, Albert and Victor Colantoni, and a sister, Helen Colantoni.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in John B. Greenlee Funeral Home, 2830 Main Street, Beallsville, where a blessing service will be held at 9:45 a.m. Saturday, May 11, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. in St. Michael Archangel Church, Fredericktown, with the Rev. Paul Grunebach officiating. Entombment will follow in LaFayette Memorial Park Cemetery, Brier Hill. Military rites will be accorded by Hanson-Cole American Legion Post 391, Fredericktown. A guest book and personal condolences may be accessed at www.GreenleeFuneralHome.com.