When Donte Mack came home after 14 months away, his family threw him a surprise welcome-home party. But Donte had a surprise of his own. He walked in with gifts for everyone else.
“For some people he made cards,” said his mother, Tonya Mack. “For me, he made a mother’s plaque made out of wood. He painted it, did it all by hand.”
That was Donte all over—thinking of others first.
At home in Southwest Philadelphia, Donte would often beat everyone out of bed. “You’d wake up and breakfast would be cooked, the whole house clean, the trash taken out,” Tonya said. “Donte was amazing.”
He had grown up that way, surrounded by love and service. Tonya raised four children—two boys and two girls—with the rule to give back, even on their birthdays. The family would go to the store and get an extra toy or T-shirt, and then they would go to the Salvation Army to donate it.
“I raised my kids on their birthday, we do for other people. We give,” she said.
Born and raised in Southwest Philadelphia, Donte attended Morton and Longstreth elementary schools, Tilden Middle, and briefly Bartram High. As a boy he was full of energy and loved sports, becoming a talented wide receiver on a number of football teams at PAL Center, Myers Recreation, and Kingsessing Rec.
He also loved the outdoors, especially fishing. As a kid, Tonya would take him to places like Bartram Gardens and out by Lindbergh Avenue. As he got older, Donte would go fishing on his own to clear his mind.
When he wasn’t on the water, Donte was the one neighbors called on for help. “If he knew you were sick, or you were a neighbor, he’d go to the store for you, cook for you, take care of your outside area,” Tonya said. “My son was really a good person, and I’m not just saying that because that’s my son.”
She remembers him as funny, dancing and full of music. He loved singing New Edition, which was his favorite group, especially ‘Mr. Telephone Man,’ as well as John Legend’s ‘Ordinary People’ and anything by Whitney Houston.
He also poured that love into the next generation. Donte was the father of two children—a 5-year-old son, Gabriel, and a 6-year-old daughter, Jordan, whose mom was his fiancee, Nashana Dunn, but who he was raising as his own.
“Family and his kids made him happy,” Tonya said. “He took them out to Playland, Fun Zone, carnivals, the parks, out to eat with his fiancée. Especially in the summertime.”
In his later years, Donte worked hard to change his life, going from a street person to putting his family first, Tonya said. Despite setbacks and a record that made it hard to find steady work, Donte stayed determined to care for others.
“Even when he was locked up, he’d call me to check on people,” Tonya said. “Everybody’s problems became our problems.”
He also had a soft spot for animals. One day, Donte noticed a stray kitten behind his mother’s house. He insisted they start feeding the cat because he couldn’t see an animal going without.
“Now I take care of four cats because of him,” Tonya said.
In her yard today, she keeps small houses for the cats and bird feeders she fills each morning in his memory. “I feed the birds for my son,” she said. “They come every day.”
Faith anchored him from a young age. When Donte was 13, he came to his mother to ask if he could study the Islamic religion. That put him on a path to become Muslim.
On May 15, 2025, Donte Mack was shot and killed in Southwest Philadelphia. He was 28. Police later told his mother that he had not been involved in any confrontation. “They said my son wasn’t doing nothing—they just shot up the crowd,” Tonya said.
About two months after Donte was killed, his brother got married. They reserved an empty chair for him throughout the service and celebration in his honor.
The memory brought Tonya to tears as she thought about all the firsts he’s going to miss, like Gabriel starting school for the first time. But she honors him daily, once with a prayer and then by feeding the birds every morning because of how much he loved nature.
“People need to know who Donte was,” Tonya said. “He was love—not just loving, but love itself.”
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