James Daniel D'Antonio, M.D.

James Daniel D’Antonio, 55, died suddenly on July 4, 2026. Committed is the best word to describe Jim (Jimmy to his family). Jim was deeply committed to his wife, sons, parents, brothers, friends, patients, and making people laugh with his bone-dry sense of humor. When he picked a new hobby, he was all in.

James A. (Jim) and Joane D’Antonio welcomed Jim on July 29, 1970.  Raised in the North Hills of Pittsburgh with his younger brothers Jon, Jeff, and Jason, Jim was a very active child, playing baseball, football, and lacrosse.  Family ski trips ignited a life long passion. Never content to simply ski down a mountain, he taught himself to telemark, always looking for a way to make an even bigger adventure out of it.

Jim will be remembered by his childhood and high school friends for a variety of foolhardy but memorable adventures. After graduating from Sewickley Academy, he attended the University of Colorado Boulder, where he met many lifelong friends and his future wife, Amy. While in Boulder, Jim discovered passions for mountain biking, rock climbing, and mountaineering. If he wasn’t in the Student Union studying, he was honing his rock climbing skills or jumping over obstacles on his bike. Jim climbed many of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains, eventually convincing Amy to join in on the fun. After graduating with a degree in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, he spent a year trekking, mountaineering, and eating questionable food around the world with Amy and friend Mark Beyer. His favorite places were the South Island of New Zealand, the Ladakh region of India, and anywhere and everywhere in Nepal.

Jim and Amy married in 1998. True to form, they married themselves on a vista overlooking Hallett Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. They also celebrated with friends and family in a ceremony officiated by Amy’s brother, Doug. They never imagined the next 28 years would include several cross-country moves, three boys, eight cows, six pigs, and too many chickens to count. Jim and Amy were always a team, always looking forward to their next adventure together.

Jim’s greatest joy was his sons- Jonah, Riley, and Charles. He taught his boys what it means to work hard and sacrifice for family.  He also taught them to embrace adventure, new experiences, and challenges. Jim shared his love of the outdoors by visiting national parks, skiing in Jackson Hole, camping in the Utah desert, and kayaking the Verde River. He also shared his gift for filterless humor, which his sons proudly carry on.

Jim was incredibly proud of each of them. He especially loved watching Jonah whitewater kayak, Riley play college hockey, and Charlie compete with his high school hockey team.  This spring, he proudly watched each of them graduate- Jonah and Riley from college and Charlie from high school. His sons are proud of their dad, too. They are filled with pride knowing he spent his life helping others, being an amazing husband, and being the best father they could have ever asked for.

Jim attended medical school at Oregon Health & Science University. Graduating summa cum laude, he completed his Internal Medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital before returning to Pittsburgh for fellowships in Cardiology at the University of Pittsburgh and Interventional Cardiology at West Penn Hospital. Jim then started his career as, in Amy’s words, a “Journeyman Cardiologist.”  He practiced in Pennsylvania, Arizona, West Virginia, and Ohio.  In 2025, he joined longtime friend Brian Carey at Butler Memorial Hospital and finally found his forever home.

Jim was widely regarded as an exceptionally gifted interventional cardiologist who cared deeply about the people on and around the table. The cath lab teams he worked alongside became some of his closest friends, and he valued every member of the team. He endeavored to know his patients as people. His favorite question was, “What do you do for fun?” Jim often shared their responses with Amy and would always tell her when a patient cried happy tears because they finally felt heard.

He made a lot of people cry happy tears.

Jim’s commitment to his hobbies was legendary. While remaining an avid hiker and skier, Jim also remodeled a school bus into a motorhome, learning to install plumbing and electrical systems, and to sew cushion covers.  Jim developed an obsession with golf. He was constantly listening to podcasts, practicing his long and short game, and relating everything in life to golf. He played regularly with his dad, brother Jon, and friend Jason Hoover. He was happiest on the golf course and probably wouldn’t be too mad that he died at a driving range.

Jim is survived by his parents, James A. and Joane D’Antonio; his wife, Amy; his sons, Jonah, Riley, and Charlie; his brothers, Jonathan (Jennifer), Jeffrey (Ashton), and Jason; and the nieces, nephews, and cousins he loved dearly. He is also survived by the many friends who laughed with him, traveled with him, skied with him, golfed with him, and shared in his many adventures.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Jim’s memory to First Tee, helping young people build character and life skills through the game of golf (www.firsttee.org), or to the American Heart Association in support of cardiovascular research, education, and patient care (www.heart.org).