Donna Marie Shaw Cook, 74, a longtime resident of VanDeusenville Road passed peacefully into eternal life at Baystate Medical Center on November 16, 2015.
A native and lifelong resident, Donna was born in Great Barrington, Mass., on December 31, 1940 the daughter of the late Lawrence Martin Shaw and Cecelia Nutting Shaw. She was a graduate of the former Williams High School in Stockbridge, class of 1959.
Mrs. Cook was employed as a traffic manager at ED Jones in Pittsfield, Mass., for 45 years until her retirement in 2005. She then went to work part-time as an administrative assistant at the town offices in Stockbridge.
Donna married Edward Joseph Cook on January 13, 1962 at St. Mary’s Church in Pittsfield. Together, the couple enjoyed visiting the coast of Maine. They took great pride in caring for their home and yard on VanDeusenville Road in Great Barrington which was a special gathering place for their large family.
Donna loved nature as well as working in her gardens. She spent countless hours watching the many different species of birds in her yard.
Mrs. Cook was a communicant of St. Peter’s Church in Great Barrington.
Along with her husband of 53 years, Edward J. Cook, Donna is survived by four brothers, Bernard Shaw and wife Judith of Lee, Mass., Edward Shaw and wife Linda of Pittsfield, Dennis Shaw and wife Victoria of Clayton, N.C., and Frederick Shaw and wife Carol of Sheffield, Mass.; two sisters, Christine Shaw and Ellen Daigle, both of Great Barrington. She also leaves her nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews and other beloved extended family who loved her dearly and will always remember the Christmas wonderland that Donna and Ed created for them each year. She was really the glue that held the family together.
In addition to her parents Donna was predeceased by her two brothers Kenneth and Charles Shaw and her brother-in-law Thomas Daigle.
Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, November 20th at 10 a.m. at St. Peter’s Church on Main Street in Great Barrington, conducted by Rev. William P. Murphy, pastor. Burial will follow at St. Bridget’s Cemetery in Housatonic.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, November 19 from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME in Great Barrington.
Donations in memory of Donna may be made to the St. Peter’s Building Fund through FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. To send remembrances to her family or sign the guestbook please go to www.finnertyandstevens.com.
