Sept. 25, 1925 – June 6, 2020
Spurred by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Donald G. Symer Sr. of Lancaster enlisted in the Navy on his 17th birthday, and he went on to serve in combat in the South Pacific during World War II.
According to his family, Mr. Symer, who died from Covid-19 on June 6 at Elderwood at Amherst, rarely, if ever, spoke about his experiences during World War II. A notable exception was about his brief encounter with then-first lady Eleanor Roosevelt while on shore leave on the island of New Caledonia in 1943.
Mrs. Roosevelt was on an extended tour of the South Pacific to boost American service members’ morale and assess the war effort. His family said the 1942 Depew High School graduate vividly recalled the first lady exclaiming that he looked too young to be enlisted and asked him what his mother thought about his serving in active duty so far from home. But his response to her was never made clear.
Mr. Symer also talked about the night, while serving as an aerographer aboard a naval ship, when he stood beside Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, who asked him a few questions about his duties and advised him to reach for the highest goals in life and to continue pursuing his education.
Soon after he was recalled from the Pacific Theater, Mr. Symer was invited to join the V-12 Naval Training program. The wartime V-12 program was for commissioned officers at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. As part of the concentrated wartime curriculum, Mr. Symer attended lectures by the American poet Robert Frost. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth in 1947 and from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth with master’s degrees in science and in engineering in 1948.
After graduation, he married the former Gloria Jean Erickson in 1951 and built a house in Lancaster, where the couple raised six children. Mr. Symer lived there until only a few years ago. During that time, he pursued a career as a mechanical and design engineer that spanned many decades, until his retirement from Buflovak in 2012 at age 87.
He worked at New York Central Railroad, Symington Wayne, Worthington, Dresser Rand, Ingersoll-Rand and Buffalo Technologies, all in the Buffalo area. Mr. Symer was issued several U.S. patents for various inventions. As a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, he served as national secretary. He also maintained his professional continuing education requirements and engineering licensure after his retirement.
Mr. Symer contracted the coronavirus in April while a resident at the Brompton Heights Assisted Living Facility, his family said. While his condition appeared to be improving at first, his condition eventually worsened and he succumbed to the virus.
He was a lifelong Yankees fan and community-minded resident of Lancaster who attended countless Town Board meetings.
He was predeceased by his wife of 50 years, who died in 2002.
He is survived by five sons, Robert S., Dr. Donald G. Jr., John M., Dr. David E. and Derek S. Symer; a daughter, Linda J. Cykert; a brother, Laverne; and a sister, Joan Chongor.
A burial service was held June 10 at Lancaster Rural Cemetery, 70 Cemetery Road, Lancaster, where a Navy honor guard detail provided funeral honors.
