David R. DonTigny, 92, of State College, PA, passed away peacefully on Monday, July 6, 2026 at Centre Care where he had been a resident since August of last year.
David and his twin brother Donnie, were born on July 27, 1933 in Havre, Montana. He was the son of the late Emil and Helen Halverson DonTigny. On August 29, 1959, in Missoula, MT, he married Lorna N. Kaiser, who survives.
In addition to his wife of almost 67 years, he is survived by two children, Steve T. DonTigny and his wife Terry of Falls Church, VA, and Mary Beth Hoffman and her husband Mark of Boalsburg, PA. He is also survived by his twin brother, Donald DonTigny of Kalispell, MT; his sister, Margaret Holliday of Lovettsville, VA; daughter-in-law Sheri Lynn Rothermel; his grandchildren, Emilie DonTigny, Helen Grace, Ben, and Shannon Hoffman and his wife Claire Hoffman, and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his eldest child, Mark DonTigny on July 6, 2021; his eldest brother, Richard DonTigny; and his beloved dogs, Schwartz, Teddy, and Sammy.
David graduated from Havre High School where he was an outstanding athlete. Upon graduation he accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Montana. After three years at U of M, he was drafted into the United State Army. Rather than seek a deferment, he served in the army as a company clerk in the infantry from 1956 to 1958 in Germany, during which time he learned about photography, which became a life passion. Following his discharge in 1958, he returned to the University of Montana to complete work for his BS in Health and Physical Education with a minor in art while continuing to serve in the US Reserves until 1962. He worked as a coach, PE, and Art teacher at Warrenton High School in Oregon from 1960-’62. By then his true passion had become ceramic art, so he returned to the University of Montana where he studied with a leading contemporary ceramic artist, Rudio Autio, and received his MFA from U of M in 1964. He was then hired by Penn State University to set up the ceramics program in the College of Arts and Architecture at University Park.
During David’s tenure, he and his friend and colleague, James Stephenson developed the Ceramics program and organized many conferences together. During the summer of 1967, David joined community and university members to start planning for the first Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. At this time, he also spearheaded the first ceramics conference at Penn State, named A Conference on Pottery: East to West, which later became known as Super Mud. The purpose of the inaugural, and subsequent conferences, was to get students involved with outside people and bring in influences from the western part of the country. The conference was a way to expose numerous students and guests to the prominent influences in American ceramics East and West. The conference was held annually from 1967-1979. During that time a total of 53 visiting artists demonstrated various techniques and shared their creative processes. A total of 2,121 students from around the nation attended one or more of the 12 conferences. As a result of Super Mud, PSU became well known in the field of contemporary ceramics. Upon David’s retirement in 1995, he received an honorary member award by the National Council on Education in Ceramic Art (NCECA) and continued to maintain his own ceramic studio at home for many years.
For over 40 years, David and his wife Lorna were loyal fans and ticket holders of Penn State Athletics. In the late 1970’s, they would go to PSU football games with friends and their children, where the children could sit in the end zone with the younger fans and develop their love for PSU! For 25 years they also supported Lady Lion Basketball and Soccer, rarely missing a home game. They also traveled to many cities and countries in Europe with friends to learn about other cultures and visit art museums.
David never lost his love for his home state of Montana. He drove his family cross-country in their van to visit family, friends, and to explore the west for many summers. He helped instill in his children and grandchildren a love for Montana and the importance of family. David’s sense of humor was well known to friends, family, and colleagues, and he was always quick to fill a room with laughter. Throughout his career he had an impact on many people, but most of all, to his students, who became some of his closest friends throughout his life.
Becoming a grandfather was one of his greatest joys in life. He enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren: singing and playing the ukulele and teaching them how to throw and glaze ceramics in his studio. He always brought light and love to his grandchildren’s lives while instilling in them a love of art, family, being generous and having a good time. He will be greatly missed.
The family would like to express their great appreciation for the loving care he received from the staff at Centre Care Rehabilitation and Wellness Services and Hospice 365.
There will be a Celebration of Life honoring his memory on July 31, 2026 at 3:00 PM at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 208 W. Foster Avenue, State College — a community he was a part of for many years.
In lieu of flowers, Memorial contributions may be directed to Centre County PAWS at https://www.centrecountypaws.org/donate
Online condolences may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com or visit us on Facebook.