Former Lower Merion First Responder Passes Away At 56

Obituary and image courtesy Wetzel and Son Funeral Home.

HORSHAM, PA -- Donald Eugene Pond of Breinigsville, Pennsylvania died Saturday, April 9, 2016 at his home. He was 56 years old. Donald was born October 5, 1959 in Abington, Pennsylvania, son of the late James Donald Pond and the late Alice Margaret Pond (nee - Montague).

He is the beloved husband of Jean Pond (nee - Angelillo); father of Ryan Young; brother of James L. Pond and the late Kenneth Pond; son-in-law of Mary and the late Joseph Angelillo; cousin of Kenneth and Bee Schwetz, Edward and Georgiann Schwetz, and Mary Matulevich; brother-in-law of Joseph and Barbara Angelillo, Lorraine Krug (Dave Myers), and David Angelillo; uncle of Jamie, Angela, Stacey, Sammy, and Joey; great uncle of Santino.

Don was born in Abington, PA and was raised and educated in Horsham where he was a 1978 graduate of Hatboro-Horsham High School. He was a 2000 graduate of Montgomery County Community College, and received his Bachelors Degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix in 2005.

Don was employed as a teacher in the EMS program at Northampton Community College and, most recently, was a Senior Electrical Designer for Henkels & McCoy, a utilities construction company in Blue Bell, PA. He was a Fire Fighter, Paramedic and EMS instructor starting in 1976 for the Horsham Fire Company.

Don also served with the Delaware County Memorial Hospital Medic 103, Riddle Memorial Hospital Medic 104, Concordville Fire Company Rescue 59, UMSC of Narberth Paramedic Unit, Penn Wynne Fire Company of Lower Merion Township, and VMSC of Lansdale Rescue 345. He was a former member of the U.S.A.F. Auxiliary, CAP, Lower Bucks Cadet Squadron, where he was squadron commander, and was an instructor at the Hawk Mountain Ranger School. Don also volunteered at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum, a collection of World War II military aircraft, in Reading, PA.

He was a member of W. K. Bray Lodge No. 410 F. & A.M., and of the Valley of Lehigh Consistory. In his leisure time he enjoyed hunting, fishing, and gardening.

Relatives and friends are invited to his viewing on Thursday, April 14, 2016 from 6:00 P.M. and Masonic service at 8:00 P.M. at Wetzel and Son Funeral Home, 501 Easton Road, Willow Grove, PA 19090. Relatives and friends are also invited to his viewing Friday, April 15, 2016 from 8:45 A.M. to 9:45 A.M. at Wetzel and Son Funeral Home, 501 Easton Road, Willow Grove, PA 19090. His Funeral Mass will follow at 10:30 A.M. at St. Catherine of Siena Church, 321 Witmer Road, Horsham, PA 19044 www.stcatherineschurch.org. His graveside service will follow at Hillside Cemetery, 2556 Susquehanna Road, Roslyn, PA 19001.

Religious services will be conducted by Jean Pond’s cousin, Fr. Michael Reilly from St. Richard Parish, 3010 South 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19145.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Horsham Fire and Ambulance Corp., 315 Meetinghouse Road, Horsham, PA 19044, or W. K. Bray Lodge #410 F. & A. M., P.O. Box 294, Hatboro, PA 19040 www.wkbraylodge.com or Volunteer Medical Services Corps of Lansdale, 175 Medical Campus Drive, Lansdale, PA 19446, or to the Hermann-Humboldt Lodge Charity Fund, c/o Erwin Stielow, 1164 Glenn Street, Philadelphia, PA 19115.

Family flowers arranged by Domenic Graziano Flowers & Gifts 215-675-2271.