Donald Morris Sovine

SOVINE, Donald Morris, 91, of Tipp City Ohio passed away May 10, 2024.  

A Celebration of his life will be held on Thursday May 16, 2024 from 12:30pm until 1:30pm at Routsong Funeral Home, 81 North Main Street, Centerville, OH 45459. Funeral Services will begin at 1:30pm.  Burial will follow at Miami Valley Memory Gardens, 1639 E Lytle-5 Points Rd, Centerville, OH 45458.  

Don was born a country boy in Tackett’s Creek, West Virginia to Delbert and Muriel Sovine on January 13, 1933.  His childhood was spent both roaming the hills barefoot with his two younger brothers and to the surprise of his family, with his nose in a book.  He grew up helping his father fix-it and build-it which developed his lifelong love to tinker.  As a teenager, his family migrated to southern Ohio looking for work.    

He was a gifted scholar with a sharp intellect and inquisitiveness which drove all his pursuits.  He became the first in his family to graduate high school and attend college earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from Wilmington College in 1955.   After graduation, a friend told him about a place he’d never heard of, Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH, was hiring.  He applied and was instantly offered a job in their storied Flight Dynamics Lab, a position that lasted his entire career and fed his love for aviation.  He later went on to obtain his pilot’s license and master’s and doctorate degrees in Electrical Engineering with an emphasis in flight controls from THE Ohio State University.  

Right after Don moved to Dayton he met the love of his life, Joyce Williams.  They married in 1957 and welcomed their first daughter in 1959.  Needing a home for his growing family, in typical fashion he decided to build one himself!  They broke ground for their Beavercreek home in 1958 and finished in time to bring their second daughter home from the hospital in 1960.

Along with Joyce, they pursued their dreams as their family grew to five children.  They loved to travel and they took their young family camping and boating every summer all over the country.  By the time their kids were teenagers they had visited almost every state in the USA, many multiple times, were competent water skiers and now shared their parents love to boat and travel.

Don loved new technology.  His life spanned the digital explosion, and he joyfully soaked it all up!  He was an expert on everything from a slide ruler to the many computers that he built.   He loved them all and always had to have the latest gadget.  At one point he even built a flight simulator in his garage that his children loved to “fly”.   

Family was very important to Don and Joyce.   They outgrew the home he built and eventually settled in a large old Victorian home in Tipp City, Ohio to finish raising their children.  In retirement they continued to stay active, travel and be a part of their children and grandchildren’s lives.  Don was particularly interested in genealogy and built an impressive family tree complete with old family photos which he had digitized and restored.  

Don is survived by his beloved wife of 66 years Joyce, daughters Diana Sovine (Jeff Guarnero) of Hollywood, MD, Carolyn Lutz (Dave) of Bucyrus, OH, Teresa Hawes (William) of Piqua, OH and son Daniel Sovine of Tipp City, OH.   Grandchildren Brandon Sampson, Justin Sampson, Andrew Lutz, Gabriel Lutz, Reilly Guarnero and Alec Guarnero will forever cherish his memory along with many beloved nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by daughter Susan Sovine, his parents Delbert and Muriel, and brothers Jack and Gene.