Donna (Ushkurnis) Hesson of Danvers died on October 13, 2026 under hospice care. She was 72.
She was born in Worcester on March 14, 1954, the daughter of Richard A. and Lucy A. (Ceffalo) Ushkurnis, and graduated from Burncoat High School. She worked as a telephone operator for Verizon and later stayed home to raise her family. She cared for her mother and her brother Richard, volunteered as a caregiver for the Sisters of Notre Dame in Worcester, where she came close to entering the order, and at Pillsbury Manor in South Burlington, Vermont. In her younger years she modeled, often with luxury cars, and went dancing or to concerts most weekends. She hosted holidays where nobody left hungry, loved animals, and as a born-again Christian and founding member of Adams Square Baptist Church in Worcester handed out tracts and, her family says, was still telling her nurses “today is the day of salvation” near the end.
She leaves her daughter, Kimberly Hesson of Peabody, who cared for her, and Kimberly’s companion, Greg Riley of Halfmoon, N.Y.; her sister, Deborah Ushkurnis of Grafton; her brother, Craig Ushkurnis and his wife Lisa of Framingham; nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews; her former husband, Ronald Hesson of Guilderland, N.Y., who also helped with her care; and Thomas Budzinski of Sun City Center, Fla., the father of her late son. Her son, Michael T. Budzinski, and her brother Richard Jr. died before her.
Services are private. Arrangements are by the Mercadante Funeral Home and Chapel, Worcester. The family suggests donations to Adams Square Baptist Church.
Compiled from information published by Mercadante Funeral Home & Chapel. Photograph courtesy of the family via Mercadante Funeral Home & Chapel. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
