Obituary: Donna Gesner Watson, of Madison

Information and photo via Guilford Funeral Home

Donna Gesner Watson, age 70, passed away peacefully, January 16, 2019 at home. Donna was born April 15, 1948 in New Haven to the late Dorothy Waldron Gesner and Burton Winthrop Gesner of Madison. She is survived by loving brothers Paul Burton Gesner and Lane Waldron Gesner and sisters-in-laws Denise Parillo Gesner and Barbara Nicklas Gesner, and niece Lisa (Jeffrey) Wuller and nephews Jeffrey, Timothy, Matthew (Ines) and Daniel Gesner as well as aunts Evelyn Spencer and Adele Vynalek and many cousins.

Some of her happiest years growing up were spent on Race Hill Road in North Madison enjoying grandparents, cousins and friends nearby and playing with the family’s pet deer "Snowflake" . She graduated from Madison's Daniel Hand High School in 1966 where she was President of her class and an Honor student. She had a love of music, playing piano accompaniment, clarinet, and singing in all the school music groups as well as Shoreline and State concerts.

She pursued an Executive Secretarial program at The Katharine Gibbs School in Boston, later receiving a Business Administration degree from University of New Haven graduating summa cum laude. She earned the prestigious PHR certification in Human Resources in her later career years. She was employed by Dana Corporation for 35 years (formerly known as Echlin, Inc.) where she spent time in Sales, Marketing, Finance, Operations and Human Resources.

In her pre-retirement years, she was a medical office assistant and later spent many years with Lemley Electric Company in Madison doing administrative work, a job she truly enjoyed. One of her hobbies was knitting thousands of infant hats for the Middlesex Hospital, and she was a talented quilter. Gardening, collecting recipes, reading and traveling to Europe and beyond captured her interest. Donna greatly enjoyed being a member of the United Methodist Church in Clinton.

Please join family and friends at the Guilford Funeral Home, 115 Church St, Guilford for calling hours on Saturday, January 26, 2019 from 10 a.m. – 12 noon. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to North Madison Volunteer Fire Dept., 864 Opening Hill Rd, Madison CT 06443; Henry Carter Hull Library, 10 Killingworth Tpke, Clinton, CT 06413.
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