My parents always had interesting people whom they knew. They were raising us during a time where it was all corporate America all the time in the Main Line/Philadelphia area, and I appreciated all those f the different kinds of interesting people they knew as opposed to just the stiff corporate types. And one of those people was Dr. Donald Rosato.
Well known in equine circles, he also was very much of a quiet philanthropist that you could always count on attending a nonprofit fundraiser and so on. He was a familiar face at Devon, Radner Hunt, Ludwig‘s Corner Horse Show and much more. I also always used to see him in more recent years at benefits for Natural Lands, for example. In more recent years, my mother and stepfather would run into he and Judy at benefits for the English Speaking Union. I think the last time I saw him anywhere was a couple of years ago.
Dr. Rosato was a very congenial man. I was to his home a few times over the course of my life, and one time in particular it was after we went carriaging with him when my sister and her husband were newlyweds. He had given my sister a carriaging day as a wedding present.
I will always remember that afternoon, Chester County was a lot less developed then. Halfway through that afternoon, we stopped down a dirt road or path to have a little picnic at this 18th century stone cottage that he owned that had been restored somewhat, but it did not have modern conveniences. It was frozen in time and it was simply beautiful. That was in the 1990s.
And a thing about Dr. Rosato were his wonderful dogs, as well as his amazingly beautiful horses. I also loved his beautiful restored farm house and his collection of carriages. The only other collection I ever remember that would have even rival his was the one from even further back in my childhood owned by Mr. Gwinn in Gladwyne. But Dr. Rosato’s horses were always better.
Dr. Rosato is someone I never saw without a smile on his face, and he had this remarkable ability to remember people, even if he hadn’t seen them in years. He was also very quietly kind to people who needed kindness.
I learned this morning from a friend the Dr. Rosato passed away a few days ago. He was 90 years old. He has survived by his lovely wife, Judy and his children from his first marriage. He’s also survived by all of the people in the equine circles in Chester County that he was very much a part of.
He was a familiar face on many of the back roads in Chester Springs and West Vincent in his carriages. He didn’t just drag them out for Devon or special occasions, he was a regular fixture on local roads.
The last time I was invited to go carriaging was in 2017. It was at that point in time that I realized how much the entire area had changed and how people did not know how to safely go around carriages on the road.
As a matter of fact, one of the things I remember from that day other than the sheer awesomeness of being in one of his carriages driving around Chester Springs, were a couple of extremely rude drivers in cars.
Of course what used to amuse me were all the people that thought they could just call him up and say take me for a carriage ride. You had to be invited, and it was special. And when you went for a ride with him, you also got a little history of the area. He would tell you about the farms, the area, and the houses.
Main Line Today wrote an article about him a few years ago:
Here is a link to his obituary. There is no service planned at this time donations in his memory can go to the Kimberton Hunt and Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show Association .
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/paoli-pa/donald-rosato-12531556
Thanks for the carriaging excursions, Dr. Rosato. Rest in peace.
Please note all of the photos used were taken by me personally.
