Bellefonte father, businessman dies after motorcycle crash in northern Pennsylvania

A Bellefonte man died earlier this month after crashing his motorcycle in rural northern Pennsylvania.

Anthony M. DeOnna, 59, lost control of his motorcycle about 2:25 p.m. July 20 on state Route 44 in Potter County, state police at Coudersport wrote in a report released Monday.

DeOnna was riding a 2024 Ducati Hypermotard northbound when he lost control in a curve, police wrote. He veered off the right side of the road, hit at least two large rocks on an embankment and was thrown from the motorcycle, police wrote.

He was flown to UPMC Williamsport, where he died, police wrote. His cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma, the Lycoming County coroner’s office said Wednesday. His death was ruled accidental.

DeOnna was wearing a helmet and eye protection when he crashed, police wrote.

Fatal motorcycle crashes have increased during the past decade in Pennsylvania, state Department of Transportation data showed. The state averaged about 177 such crashes from 2014-19; that number increased to about 220 from 2020-23.

Remembered in his obituary as an adoring father and savvy businessman, DeOnna was a father of two and founder and owner of the Bellefonte-area landscaping company EcoLawn.

“While gone far too soon, he died in the way that he lived — experiencing life to its fullest,” his obituary read.

Born in Alabama, DeOnna was raised in an Italian family and enjoyed cooking Sunday pasta dinners. He also found joy in long barefoot walks in the woods, cultivating a robust garden, raising chickens and bees, making maple syrup and gathering around campfires.

Part of his Sunday morning routine included drinking coffee barefoot around a campfire with his daughter. Speaking with the Centre Daily Times on Wednesday, Chloe DeOnna said her father’s death was the “worst loss of my whole life.”

She described him as an “amazing guy on every level.” He is survived by his parents, his children, their mother and other extended family.

“Someone that worked so hard and built so much, he still had this perspective of what’s important. Family and integrity and strong values were always important to him,” she said. “That’s definitely what he’s instilled in me and I embody the same. People tell me a lot I’m just like my dad and to me that’s the greatest compliment in the world.”

Her father’s landscaping company has served customers since 1995. It services more than 900 residential and commercial properties in Centre County and employs 29 people, all of whom attended their boss’ services earlier this month.

The business, his daughter said, will continue.

“His long hours of investment beautified the community, honored the earth and her ecosystems, and built lasting relationships that reflect his passion for service and a job well done,” his obituary read. “He led his company much like an extension of his family — imbuing trust, business acumen, and love in his mentorship of those he worked alongside. These values are what his children and employees will carry forward in his name.”

His plans for retirement included purchasing a horse farm with his daughter in North Carolina. He would have tended to the horses, while his daughter continued to work and pay the mortgage.

They looked at properties together and while they are now unable to run the farm side-by-side, his daughter said she has every intention of still buying a farm.

“He told me that he always wanted to be cremated and buried under a tree,” DeOnna said. “We did cremate him and when I buy that horse farm one day, I will be burying him under that tree. I’m still going to do it.”