Donnie Carolei, lifelong martial artist, referee and judge, passes away
Donnie Carolei, a lifelong martial artist, passed away on January 16, less than two years after the unfortunate passing of his wife.
Sensei Don Carolei was one of the most experienced Kickboxing referees in the New York area and had worked as an official in the capacity of a judge and or referee for the sport, but also in mixed martial arts, for a number of years.
Carolei was inducted into the New Jersey Martial Arts Hall of Fame in 2013 under the “Lifetime Contributions” wing.
There were three words that Carolei was known for, “stop,” “break,” and “fight.”
Posts began to flow in on social media following the announcement of Carolei’s passing:
“It is with unbearable sadness that I learned of the passing of Donnie Carolei . An extraordinary martial artist and even better person. I spent countless hours with him over the years. He was one of the first and most ardent supporters of San Da. I am devastated. Donnie we love you and you are always in our hearts.”
“RIP Donnie Carolei. A legend and great guy. You will never be forgotten brother 🙏”
“Always a gentleman, professional, and dressed sharp. Donnie, thank you for the kind words and encouragement. Rest in peace, handsome.”
“So sad my great friend Donnie Carolei passed today. I loved that guy; I hope he’s in a great place. I loved working with him. He wanted to watch my son fight on February 3rd. I had a ticket for him, I’m so sad. He was a great man, a character and a brother to me… Love ya Donnie”
“The fight community lost a great guy.
RIP Donnie Carolei
You were one of my favorite dudes at the fights. I always looked forward to our talks.
You’ll be missed bro 🙏”
“R.I.P. Donnie Carolei
This man and I go way back to the early 1990’s when I began fighting amateur kickboxing in Brooklyn. He promoted some of my amateur fights and referred many of my fights from amateur to Professional World champion and so many of my students fights over the years. He was a major part of the growth of Combat fight sports in NY. He helped grow the WPKO, then the USKBA and the PKF while working with all other major organizations such as KICK and ISKA. He will never be forgotten and will be missed by many of us in the Ny Kickboxing scene. May God bless his family at this time. 🙏🙏”
