Donald Suggs Obituary, Death – Donald Paul Suggs, a Pawtucket native, died on November 5 at Providence’s Hope Health Hospice Center. He has lived for 77 years. Throughout the 1960s, Donald was largely regarded as one of the best basketball players in the country. He was a standout for the Tolman High School basketball team in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where he set a single-season scoring record that still stands today (501 in 1963-64). He went on to play basketball at Rhode Island College after graduating from high school, where he had great success. In 2009, Donald was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2012, the Rhode Island Interscholastic League designated Donald a Basketball Legend.
Donald was a proud member of the Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers and served as a prison officer at the Adult Correctional Institute for nearly thirty years. He was a driving force behind the Score Program, which was established to help minimize the number of youngsters incarcerated. Before becoming ill, Donald worked as a softball instructor and umpire throughout Rhode Island. He was also a coach, friend, and mentor to children and young adults of all ages at The Boys & Girls Club of Pawtucket. Donald was an avid sports fan, with particular fondness for the New York Yankees and the Boston Celtics.
Before he was born, his mother Viola Addison, father Frank Suggs, brother William, and sisters Joyce, Maria, and Carol all perished. His children Deborah-Jane and Justin, daughter-in-law Ann, grandchildren Marcus and Maya, sisters Virginia Walker, Barbara Gibbs, and Elizabeth Wallace, brothers Richard Addison and Gerald Suggs, and loving puggle Emma will carry on his legacy. Many people liked and respected Donald, including several nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and great-nephews. He has a lot of buddies. On Tuesday, November 15th, at 11:00 a.m., a funeral ceremony will be held at the Costigan-O’Neill Funeral Home, 220 Cottage Pawtucket. Friends and family are gladly invited. There will be a visitation at the Costigan-O’Neill Funeral Home on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. prior to the Service. The funeral and burial will take place in privacy.
