Obituary of Donna M. Ushinski

Donna Marie (Ziegler) Ushinski passed away on August 21, 2024, after a brief illness. Donna was born in Wilkes-Barre Township on February 17, 1948. While in grade school, the family moved to Livonia, MI, where her father started a job in the automotive industry. After her father’s passing, Donna’s family moved back to Georgetown and she attended Marymount High School graduating in 1966. Upon graduation she entered the convent of the Bernadine Franciscan Sisters where she was known as Sister Cora Maria and eventually taught math at Marymount. Prior to Final Vows, Donna sought a different vocation and after a few years of independent living and working, she met her husband, Joe, and they married in 1979. After the death of her husband and with the help of her mother, Helen, and many extended family and friends, she created a loving home. As a hard-working, single mother, Donna went back to school taking night classes at King’s College where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management in 1996. She held several HR positions in Northeast PA before moving to Arizona in 2005. Upon retirement in 2017, Donna moved back to the Wyoming Valley. Donna was preceded in death by her parents, Leo and Helen (Anderscavage) Ziegler, her husband, Joe, and her brothers, Leo (Butch) and Joe. Surviving is her son, Joe, daughter-in-law, Heidi; granddaughters Delaney and Mollie, Mesa, AZ; sisters-in-law, life-long friends, nieces, nephews, and cousins, as well as her Anthracite Street Family and St. Boniface Friends. Funeral service will be held on Saturday, August 31st at 11 am from the Nat Gawlas Jordan Funeral Home, 89 Park Avenue, Wilkes-Barre. Deacon Francis Bradigan will officiate. Private interment will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Hanover Township. A visitation for family and friends will be held on Saturday from 10-11 am at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Donna’s memory to the King’s College Presidential Hope Fund to assist financially at-risk students at King’s. Please send your memorial gift to King's College, Office of Institutional Advancement, 133 N. River St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711.