News Death Notice
MEINEKE, Donald E.
"Monk" Age 83, of Centerville,
died Tues., Sept. 3, 2013. He was born & raised in Dayton,
graduated from Wilbur Wright HS in 1948 & University of
Dayton in 1952. Don is well known for his athleticism,
having played both basketball and baseball at UD where he
held 33 records. He was a two-time All-American and is still
the sixth leading scorer in UD history. He is a member of
both the UD & Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. He played in 4
post season tournaments in 3 years, as Dayton played in both
the NIT & NCAA in 1952. He was MVP (both nights) in the 1952
All-American games, playing against the world champion
Lakers and the NY Knicks. After UD, he played for the
Pistons & was the first NBA Rookie of the Year (1953). He
had over 30 years in radio/television sales, was a member of
the All-Atlantic 10 Legends inaugural class, member and past
president of the Dayton Agonis Club & a member of Church of
the Incarnation. Preceded in death by his wife of 53 years,
Mary Jane (Hautman), 7 brothers & sisters and the other
members of UD's "Big Four", Pete Boyle, Junior Norris and
Chuck Grigsby. He is survived by 3 sons, Donald (Kara) of
Kettering, Gregory (Laura) of Birmingham, AL, Jeffrey of
Centerville; 1 daughter, Jennifer (Thad) Sargent of
Centerville; 8 grandchildren, Jacqueline Meineke, Emily,
Quinn, Jack, & Jo Jo Meineke, Jacob, Danielle, & Nicole
Sargent; & 1 sister-in-law, Dorothy Hanes of Kettering. Mass
of Christian Burial will be 11 Am Friday, Sept. 13 at the
Church of Incarnation 7415 Far Hills Ave Centerville. Burial
Calvary Cemetery. The family will receive friends 4-8 Thurs.
at Tobias Funeral Home 5471 Far Hills Ave at Rahn Rd. (Steve
Conner of Stubbs-Conner Funeral Home, Director). If desired,
contributions may be made to UD Athletic Dept., 300 College
Park, Dayton, OH 45469-2961
The
Essence of a Legend…
He began
his career as a basketball player at Central Catholic High School in
Toledo, Ohio from 1947-1950. In college he played three years of
varsity basketball for Coach Tom Blackburn at the University of
Dayton, scoring 578 career points in 72 games.
Returning
to Dayton after the end of his service in the Army, he accepted a
part-time basketball scout position offered by Blackburn. In
February 1963, Blackburn made Don the University's first full-time
assistant coach.
In March
1964, his mentor Coach Blackburn died from cancer and Don was
formally named his successor.
During his
tenure at Dayton, Coach Donoher led the Flyers to the NCAA
tournament eight times, reaching the Sweet Sixteen five times, the
Elite Eight twice and the national final once. Additionally, Dayton
played in seven NIT post-season competitions under Donoher, winning
the championship in 1968. He is Dayton's all-time winningest coach
with a 437-275 record (.614), including a 20-16 post season record
(.556). Donoher-coached teams were noted for their discipline,
tenacity, and sound fundamentals, frequently besting teams with
greater athleticism.
Don served
as an assistant on the gold medal winning U.S. men's basketball team
at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games.
Coach
Donoher has been inducted into the Toledo Area High School Hall of
Fame, the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of
Fame, and the University of Dayton Hall of Fame. In 1998, the
University of Dayton named the new state of the art addition to the
University of Dayton Arena after their former coach.
