Obituary of Donald P. Landfried

Donald P. Landfried, 78, of Leeper, died early Saturday morning, April 9, 2011. Born March 21, 1933, Don was the youngest son of Robert and Caroline Landfried of Greenville, Pa. On April 18, 1959, he married Jacora Seidel, his wife of nearly 52 years. Don Landfried lived each day to its fullest. He earned a civil engineering degree in 1954from Notre Dame University, where he was also a member of the intramural boxing team and participated in the Bengal Bouts. After college, Don served with the U.S. Navy for three years and was a Lieutenant JG during Operation Deep Freeze, the building of the first permanent settlement in Antarctica. In 1957, Don began a 32-year career with Chicago Bridge & Iron, an international industrial construction firm. With his growing family, he lived and traveled as a project manager to jobs in Germany, Italy, Holland, France and Belgium, before becoming Director of Operations of Australia and New Zealand. Don later returned to the United States to serve as Director of South American Operations. In 1983, he was asked to form a non-union division of CBI Services, and he moved to Atlanta to establish CBI NaCon. Don was president of NaCon until 1990, when he retired and returned to Pennsylvania. Don's first chapter of retirement was to hike the Appalachian Trail with his late brother, Ray Landfried, formerly of Greenville. The two completed the 2,175-mile journey in August of 1991. Don remained an avid backpacker for the rest of his life, and was preparing for a hiking trip with friends in southern Ohio at the time of his death. Don was an active member of St. Mary Church, serving as a lector, Eucharistic minister and member of the finance committee. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Clarion Council of Rotary International and the Environmental Roundtable, a citizens group that studies environmental issues in western Pennsylvania. Don was a lifelong hunter and avid outdoorsman. Winter through spring he walked the woods - always a driver, seldom a watcher -- with friends and family, chasing deer, turkey and bear. Summertime was spent in the garden and with visiting grandchildren. He was an ardent fan of Notre Dame football and Fox News. Don's pride in his four sons was endless. They are: Jeffrey Landfried and his wife, Konica, of Melbourne, Australia; Donald Kevin Landfried and his wife, Sherry, of Leeper; Christopher Landfried and his wife, Dee Dee, of Hope Mills, NC; and Bradley Landfried and his wife, Roxann, of Augusta, GA. His is also survived by 10 grandchildren: Carissa, Daniel, Kelsey, Jaxon, Callen, Cole, Matt, Courtney, Chase and Reece; and two great-grandchildren: Colin and Sophia. They are left with many memories of his love and guidance. In addition to his parents, Don was preceded in death by two brothers, Robert and Ray Landfried, and one sister, Eleanor Lininger. Visitation will be from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 Tuesday at the Borland Funeral Home Inc. in Leeper. Funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Mary Church in Crown, with Father Gregory Passauer officiating. Internment will follow in St. Mary Church Cemetery.