Obituary of Jacqueline A. O'Donnell

Jacqueline A. O'Donnell, our beloved mother and grandmother and a long-time resident of Pine Bush, NY, fought bravely and courageously against breast cancer for the past five years. She recently lost her battle and entered into rest on November 19th with her loving family by her side at Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY. She was 60 years old. Mom is survived by her son, William R. Herlihy and daughter-in-law Amy Herlihy; her daughter Jennifer Rosenblum and son-in-law Jason Rosenblum; her beloved grandsons, Joseph Balducci and William E. Herlihy; her beloved granddaughters Emma and Kira Rosenblum and Olivia Herlihy; her sister Cheryl Zangel and brother-in-law Gary Zangel; her sister Kristin Murray and brother-in-law Scott Murray; five other siblings; and several nieces and nephews. Mom was predeceased by her husband, Ross V. O'Donnell and her parents, Robert and Ruth Martineck. Mom was employed by Verizon as a Construction Coordinator for 28 years and retired in October 2009. After retirement, Mom enjoyed spending her time with her kids and grandkids. On most weekends, she could be found either at the baseball field with Joey or the soccer field with William. And, in between she would be babysitting for Emma, Kira and Olivia. Grandma loved loved loved her grandkids and they brought her more joy than words can say. We will always remember Mom for her wonderful smile, her sometimes too-loud laugh and her incredible optimism, especially in facing this horrible disease. She never complained or felt sorry for herself. She picked herself up and lived her life to the fullest. During these last few months when she was in the hospital, Mom was still optimistic about getting home and being with her family. She loved her family and was so proud of them. She bragged to every nurse and staff member that she could find. We are so thankful that we were able to be by her side during her last days, holding her hand and telling her how much we love her. We will hold her in our hearts forever and she will live on in the wonderful memories we have and share with her grandchildren. We would like to thank Dr. Manuel Perry and the staff at Crystal Run Healthcare for taking care of Mom for over five years. We would also like to thank Dr. Carmelo Puccio and the entire staff at Westchester Medical Center for taking tremendous care of Mom over the past few months. Her doctors and the staff went above and beyond to treat Mom's disease and to make sure she was comfortable during her last days. For that, we are forever grateful. Visitation will be held on Friday, November 22nd from 2-4 &7-9PM at the T.S. Purta Funeral Home, 22 Glenmere Avenue, Florida, NY 10921. Funeral Mass will be held 12Noon on Saturday, November 23rd at St. Joseph Church, 20 Glenmere Avenue, Florida, NY 10921. Burial will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery, Florida, NY. In lieu of flowers, we would greatly appreciate donations made in Mom's name to the Susan G. Komen Foundation www.komen.org or the American Breast Cancer Foundation, www.abcf.org