Pocono News Section

Services Held for Local Victim of Plane Crash

Services Held for Local Victim of Plane Crash - Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 2:20PM EST

Reported by: Kyla Campbell
Saturday, Mar 7, 2009 @ 02:20pm EST

CARBONDALE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY -- People who knew Dawn Monachino remembered her at a burial mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Carbondale.

Monachino was also known by her maiden name, Dawn Moro. She graduated from Carbondale High School in 1982, attended Marywood University, and taught at Mt. Carmel School, which is now Sacred Heart Elementary. Friends and family remember her as a caring teacher.

"Dawn was a teacher who touched the lives of her students because she cared so much about them," said Barbara Weaver, Dawn's mother-in-law. "While teaching poor children in South Carolina, she gave each child a box of chocolates, because they never had anything better than M&Ms. Then she made them count the candy pieces as part of a math lesson."

Monachino moved to New York, but her family still lives in the area, including her mother.

"Every other week, Dawn made the 10-hour round trip to take care of her mother's needs," added Weaver.

Monachino visited her family just two weeks before the plane crash that took her life.

"She taught us all how to love with her selfless devotion to her mother, her family, her friends," added Alicia Bird, Monachino's close friend.

Monachino worked for a pharmaceutical company in Buffalo and was returning from a business trip when the plane crashed on February 12th.