Donna Lee Werner

Donna Lee Werner (nee Roselle), 88 years old from Birdsboro, left this earthly realm on June 17, 2024 after a valiant struggle with multiple health issues.

Born on May 5, 1936 in Lewistown, Pennsylvania to Daniel C. and Pauline M. (Long) Roselle, Donna graduated from Lewistown High School after an award winning career in competitive gymnastics.

Later that year, a young man approached her window at Lewistown’s Rialto Theater to purchase a ticket for “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”. Several months later she married that young man, the love of her life, Gerald T. Werner, who survives her after over 68 years of an exemplary marriage.

She was predeceased by her parents, her brothers Charles and Samuel Roselle, as well as her cherished daughter Sherry Lee Greaves (survived by her husband David R.).

She is also survived by her sons Gerald T. Werner, Jr. (wife Linda L.) and Robbie D. Werner (domestic partner Melissa A. Figura), nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Considering herself first and foremost a homemaker, she did drive for Daniel Boone School District for 23 years, transporting non-traditional students.

On March 17, 1982, she underwent open heart surgery to replace her mitral valve with an artificial one predicted to last for ten years.  As of 42 plus years later, she was reputedly the longest surviving patient who had received this prosthetic valve.

Family was everything to Donna, who was a loyal supporter and fan of all her extended offspring in their athletic and musical endeavors. She and her husband were longtime Penn State football fans, attending hundreds of home games and multiple bowl games.

Proud of her Sicilian heritage, Donna’s lasagna was legendary, her spaghetti and giant meatballs were a family tradition. She was also known for her Coca-Cola cakes, pecan pies, whoopie pies and, especially, her fudge. Her home was always filled with music, laughter and good eating.

A warm, open human being, Donna was a person that others gravitated towards for advice and her sympathetic ear. The old platitude about “giving the shirt off your back” applied to her.  She would go out of her way to include anybody who was sad or lonely or on a run of bad luck. She very often set an extra place at the table for absolutely anyone that needed that acknowledgement that they counted. She understood people and people, in turn, could not help but understand her.  She lived love.

The service to celebrate and honor her life will be held on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at Giles & Yeckley Funeral Home, 21 Chestnut Street, Mohnton, Pennsylvania, with a viewing at 9:30 a.m. and the service at 10:30 a.m. Immediately following the service, she will be laid to rest in Mohnsville Cemetery at 45 E. Madison Street, Mohnton, Pennsylvania.

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