Donald J. Sternisha, Class of 1959

Donald Sternisha ’59 died Nov. 4, 2018 at the age of 86. Don graduated from Otterbein University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration in 1959. He was an outstanding distance runner and was given the Norris Elliot award for excellence in Scholarship and Athletics during his four years at the University.

After school he was employed with F and R Lazarus Company in the Internal Auditing Department. He later joined Gates McDonald and Company, a subsidiary of Nationwide. Through this, he later rose to President and CEO, taking an early retirement in 1991. He later established People Systems of Ohio, providing personal support, information and compliance services helping small companies to manage their employees. He was also a president of the Association of Unemployment Tax Organization and a founding member of the Employer’s Task Force on State Unemployment. He held leadership positions through the Columbus Vision Center, Ohio Junior Chamber of Commerce, Westerville Zoning Commission, Otterbein Varsity “O” Club, and several golf clubs. He served in the United States Air Force with tours of duty at Travis Airbase in California and Yokota Airbase in Yokota, Japan during the Korean conflict.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy; siblings, Charles, William, Patricia and Jim. He is survived by his sons, Terry, Steve and Doug; grandchildren, Ella, Hannah and Owen; and siblings, Anna and Jack.