Retired public relations director was an institution at Saint Vincent College

Don Orlando was an institution within an institution at Saint Vincent College.

Orlando, who graduated from the college in 1972, was back within several years working at the college where he went on to serve as director of public relations for 40 years.

Former Saint Vincent President Brother Norman Hipps said Orlando already had become a fixture in the college administration in 1978 when he came on board.

“Don was extraordinary,” Hipps said. “He served seven or eight different college presidents. He was committed. He was the institutional memory of the college, and he had files on everything.”

Mr. Orlando’s daughter, Trina Orlando Brooks of Wexford, said nothing gave her dad more joy than promoting Saint Vincent and Latrobe on a national stage.

Donald A. Orlando, 71, of Mt. Pleasant died Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, at Excela Health Frick Hospital.

Mr. Orlando was born Aug. 10, 1950, in Connellsville, the son of Eddie and Rita Prestia Orlando. He grew up in Vanderbilt, in a home near his family’s grocery store.

Although he graduated from Saint Vincent with a degree in economics, his skillset was tailor made for public relations. During college, he worked at the Daily Courier newspaper in Connellsville, and he and his brother had launched a photography enterprise, shooting photos of weddings and reunions during the summers.

He met his wife of 45 years, Joanie Kuzar, on a blind date that quickly proved to be a lasting example of love at first sight. They were married May 22, 1976, at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Scottdale.

His daughter said Mr. Orlando was always conscious of the image he presented to the world and how he treated others.

“My dad wore a suit and tie and long-sleeved dress shirt to work every day for 40 years. It was always a crisp, white, long-sleeved shirt,” she said. “He loved the summer theater at Saint Vincent and working to promote that and all the positive energy it brought to campus. Everything he did was for advancing the image of Saint Vincent and Latrobe.”

She said her father had a tremendous influence on her decision to pursue a career in TV news for 15 years in Pittsburgh and Chicago.

“When I was growing up, I thought my dad had the coolest job in the world,” she said. “And because of his job, I got exposed to a lot of news reporters and TV reporters.”

Mr. Orlando was active in a number of national professional public relations organizations, as well as many local civic groups.

He was a longtime member of the Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Chamber of Commerce and past chairman of its board of directors. He was a past board chairman at the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau and served on countless other boards and committees.

Tim Rennie of Greensburg, a college classmate from Saint Vincent, said he and Orlando became close friends after graduation and maintained that tie for decades.

“I’m a CPA, and he was in public relations, so he gave me tips about the kind of letterhead and communications to use when I was setting up my practice,” Rennie said.

The men and their wives often met to go out to dinner.

“Don loved to eat. His favorite place was the Grand Concourse in Pittsburgh,” Rennie said.

In addition to supporting local restaurants, Mr. Orlando was an avid walker who loved to bake bread. He took great joy in his colorful tulip display every spring.

He was a member of Saint Pius X Parish in Mt. Pleasant.

Rennie said Mr. Orlando was thrilled when his daughter and her husband, Jarmon, who had moved to Chicago seven years ago, moved back to the Pittsburgh area last spring with their four children, Arabella, 3½, Teddy, 2, and twins, Sofia and Barron Donald, 9 months.

“We had a chance to spend a lot of time with him over the summer, and I will always cherish that,” his daughter said.

She said he was especially touched her son carries his name.

In addition to his wife and daughter and her family, Mr. Orlando is survived by a brother, Larry Orlando. He was preceded in death by a sister, Joanne Orlando Lizza.

Family and friends will be received from 1 to 9 p.m. Friday at Galone-Caruso Funeral Home, 204 Eagle Street, Mt. Pleasant. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday at Saint Pius X Catholic Church, Summit and Silver Streets, Mt. Pleasant by the Very Rev. Earl Henry, OSB.