Donna Jeanne Graulich

Donna Jeanne Graulich, 66, of Hadley, passed away April 19, 2018.

A gentle, soft-spoken wife, mother and sister, she will be dearly missed. Throughout her life, she took her responsibilities seriously, working hard and caring for others, yet she also remained a free spirit.

The daughter of the late Henry and Sheridine Denton, she grew up in Hadley, in a house her father built. During her early years and beyond, she enjoyed summers at her family camp on Stewart's Pond, swimming and boating with her sister and cousins, and sitting around the campfire at night with her extended family.

As a student at Hadley-Luzerne Central School, she played field hockey and tennis, and she was a cheerleader for the basketball team. She graduated with honors in 1969.

She went to Potsdam University and planned to become a teacher, both of which many family members on her mother's side had done. However, given the job market at that time, she switched from studying biology to attending Adirondack Community College to become a registered nurse.

After working for three years in a Daytona Beach, Florida, hospital as a psychiatric nurse, she came back to the North Country. At the Glens Falls Hospital from 1975-1985, she worked in the Intensive Care Unit. She then became the school nurse at Hadley-Luzerne Central School, filling that role from 1985-1997. Taking on a new challenge as a small business owner from 1988-2007, she owned and operated the Lake Luzerne Motel.

Her hobbies included reading historical fiction, listening to folk music and playing the piano. Always humble about her artistic talent, she drew and painted flowers, birds, deer and snowmen, in addition to crocheting and doing rug hooking.

In her later years, she and her husband, Paul, enjoyed hiking and skiing together on trips out West and close to home in New York and Pennsylvania. They worked as a team to manage their property on the Hudson River, gardening and building trails. Then, after her sudden cancer diagnosis, he faithfully took care of her.

Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her son, Aaron Archard, who needed her skill and compassion in a special way during the 13 years of his life.

Survivors include her husband Paul Graulich; her daughter Jennifer (Paul) Weiss of Lititz, PA; her son Gabriel (Traci) Archard of Bismarck, ND; her step-son Christopher Graulich of Lebanon, PA; her grandchildren Sara, Erin, Isaac and Abigail; her sister Laura Dianne (William) Perry of Scotia; and her nieces and nephews Kristyn, John, Stephanie and Luke.

Friends may call at Brewer Funeral Home in Lake Luzerne Sunday from 12 noon to 2 p.m., with a service immediately following at 2 p.m.

Services:

Visitation
Sunday, April 29, 2018
12 Noon to 2 P.m.

Funeral Service
2 p.m.
Sunday, April 29, 2018

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