Date of Birth: September 21, 1946
Date of Death: January 06, 2010
Visitation: from 1 - 3PM Sunday January 10, 2010
Services: 3PM Sunday January 10, 2010

Obituary:

Cortland – Donald John Medd, 63, Tournament Trail, Cortland, Ohio, died Wednesday morning in Trumbull Memorial Hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest.

 

Mr. Medd was born the son of Henry and Virginia Siegel Medd in Philadelphia, PA.  Mr. Medd was a member of Army Special Forces, serving in a Ranger Company from Sept. 1969 to 1970 running four-day reconnaissance missions into jungles with six man teams.  During his last month in service, he served as a radio operator at Uan Loc, calling in support for teams in the field.  He earned the rank of Sergeant and won the Army Commendation Medal, Air Medal and Combat Infantryman's Badge.

 

After the war he devoted his life to human services, particularly working with and advocating for seniors.  He spent several years in Massachusetts serving older adults in a variety of organizations, including developing housing units, as an assistant director of the Greater Springfield Senior Services and Executive Director of Baypath Senior Services.

 

Mr. Medd came to the Area Agency on Aging 11, Inc. in 1991, replacing Martha Murphy who retired.  He is only the second director since the Agency's inception in 1976. AAA11 is a private non-profit agency, serving nearly 144,000 older adults in Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties with a mission to develop a system of community based services for older adults.

 

Mr. Medd received his BA in Philosophy from Edinboro University in Pennsylvania and went on to complete course work for his Master's in Philosophy from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Ill.  He oversaw the passage of a 3.5 million Ashtabula County Senior Tax Levy and initiated a Prescription Drug Program that has saved seniors in this region nearly 9 million.  He also was the visionary and provided the financial backing and leadership to recommend a Senior Levy in Trumbull County.

 

He is survived by his parents of Wilkes-Barre, PA., where Henry is a retired Reverend.  His wife, Kathleen Coughlan Medd, whom he married April 24, 2004, at home; two step-daughters, Stephanie (Jeff) Moir Bair of Plano, Texas and Theresa Lynn Moir of Cincinnati; brother Steven (Yu Hsia) Medd of Philadelphia; two nephews, Te Yin Medd, Philadelphia and Benjamin (Diana) Medd of East Bridgewater, Ma.; a niece, Lisa (Robin) Spilner of Bethlehem, Pa. and a sister-in-law, Paula Medd of Nazarith, Pa.  He was preceded in death by a brother Kenneth P. Medd in January of 2004.

 

Mr. Medd was proud of his military service to his county and was a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment Association, Airborne.  He was past president and current member of the Association of Area Agencies on Aging; Ashtabula Senior Levy Advisory Council; Mahoning County Transportation Committee; Governor's Commission on Homelessness; Attorney General's Task Force on Elder Abuse; Youngstown State University Department of Social Work Advisory Committee; Youngstown Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee; Northeast Ohio University College of Medicine Faculty Liaison Committee; Ohio Department of Aging Public Accountability Work Group and he earned the Regional Social Security Award for Outstanding Public Service.

 

Services are scheduled for Sunday, Jan.10 at Car W. Hall Funeral Home, 533 North Park Ave., Warren, where friends may pay their condolences to the family from 1 to 3 pm.  A memorial service will begin at 3 pm. 

 

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Don Medd Memorial in care of the Area Agency on Aging 11, Inc. 5555 Youngstown-Warren Road, Suite 2685, 2nd floor, Niles, Ohio 44446.