Donald Callen

Penn Township is mourning the loss of Donald J. Callen, a former township supervisor and a major driving force in the lives of township residents for decades.

Callen died on Friday, Jan. 30 at the age of 96 as the result of injuries sustained in a two-car crash at the intersection of Route 8 and Airport Road in Penn Township.

“Don was passionate and caring about his faith, family, friends and community,” said recently-retired Supervisor Samuel Ward. “His life is an example for us all.”

Ward first met Callen in the early 1980s. They both attended Nixon United Methodist Church. He first found out about the fatal accident from one of Callen’s neighbors.

“Don Callen’s neighbor Norman Hamilton called me shortly after the accident,” Ward said. “It is shocking to lose a close friend.”

Bill Kumpf, of Penn Township, first met Callen during the 1970s. The two remained friends and neighbors.

“He was a hard worker, and I think everybody in the community really respected him and liked him,” Kumpf said. “He was always out to help people.”

Kumpf and Callen shared a common connection. Both were amateur pilots.

“(My wife and I) have an acre of land right here on the airport, and Don was a pilot,” Kumpf said. “I have a commercial instrument rating, and I have about 8,000 hours, so we had a lot to talk about.”

Callen served for eight and a half years, between July 1985 and December 1993, on Penn Township’s board of supervisors — the last four of which were alongside Ward. Ward credited Callen, in part, for convincing him to run for supervisor in 1989, where he would stay until 2025.

One of Callen’s lasting contributions was his role in the foundation of the nonprofit “Penn’s Men,” which is currently headquartered in the Penn Township municipal building.

According to Kumpf, who served as the treasurer of the group, Penn’s Men started out as the Nixon Methodist Men, based out of the Nixon United Methodist Church, before splitting off from the church.

“When we all left the church over there ... Don and I had a meeting on my back porch,” Kumpf said. “And he decided to start the Penn’s Men. We had about six guys here when we started it.”

“Our motto is, ‘Ordinary men performing work for God and His people, lending a helping hand,’” said Ward, who is also a member of the group. “Penn’s Men projects include general home maintenance, medical needs for children and adults with disabilities, wheelchair ramps, stair lifts, a local food bank, Meals on Wheels, and more.”

“I remember the first year, we were going around cutting lawns for older people who couldn’t cut their grass,” Kumpf said. “We put a new porch on a house, and we put in stair climbers for a number of people.”

“Many have reached out to me expressing how Don has influenced and helped them,” Ward said. “Don will be missed.”

Donations in Callen’s memory may be made to Penn’s Men, PO Box 51, Renfrew, PA 16053.