Donna M. (Ushkurnis) Hesson

Donna (Ushkurnis) Hesson, of Danvers, Massachusetts, passed away on October 13, 2026, under hospice care. She was 72 years old.

Donna was born on March 14, 1954, in Worcester, Massachusetts, the daughter of the late Lucy A. (Ceffalo) Ushkurnis and the late Richard A. Ushkurnis. She graduated from Burncoat High School in Worcester. She was always told she had the gift of gab, and she put that gift to work as a telephone operator for Verizon before retiring. She later stayed home to raise her family. A loving daughter, sister, and aunt, and a great mother, caring for others was at the center of her life. She looked after her mother and her late brother Richard, and she served as a volunteer caregiver for the Sisters of Notre Dame in Worcester, where she grew close to the community and almost became a nun. She also volunteered as a caregiver at Pillsbury Manor in South Burlington, Vermont.

Donna loved entertaining family and friends. She would dress up for the holidays, host parties, and make sure everyone had plenty to eat. Nobody ever left hungry. She enjoyed going to the beach and family vacations with her loved ones. In her younger years she worked as a model, often with luxury cars, and she also went dancing or to concerts almost every weekend. She loved all kinds of music and was always listening to something. She danced until she physically couldn’t anymore and would call to share a new song or talk about a concert she watched. She also loved animals, learning facts about them, and being around them. An abortion abolitionist, she enjoyed joining debates on the topic.

A born again Christian and founding member of Adams Square Baptist Church in Worcester, Donna used her voice passionately to spread the word of God. In her free time, she would hand out tracts on how to get saved. Until some of her final breaths she was preaching the word of God and telling people, “Today is the day of salvation,” and how to do it. Even the nurses who were caring for her, she was trying to make sure they were saved. Her pastor, Casey of Adams Square Baptist Church, witnessed this.

She is survived by her devoted and loving daughter, Kimberly Hesson of Peabody, Massachusetts, who cared for her, and Kimberly’s companion, Greg Riley of Halfmoon, New York; her sister, Deborah Ushkurnis of Grafton; her brother, Craig Ushkurnis and his wife Lisa of Framingham; her nieces Jennifer (Dooley) Moorman and her companion Adam Deresienski of Grafton, Heather Dooley of Costa Rica, and Eve Ushkurnis of Lynn; her nephews Sean Dooley of Boston, Scott Dooley and his wife Nadia Lakshmi Ragounath of Northboro, Jacob Ushkurnis of Framingham, and Joshua Ushkurnis of Framingham; her great niece Kara Moorman of Grafton; her great nephews Wesley Wilder Ragounath and Camden Casey Ragounath of Northboro, Owen Moorman and Bryson Deresienski of Grafton; her former husband, Ronald Hesson of Guilderland, New York, who also helped with her care; and the father of her late son, Thomas Budzinski of Sun City Center, Florida.

She was predeceased by her son, Michael T. Budzinski; her brother, Richard Jr.; her parents, Lucy A. (Ceffalo) Ushkurnis and Richard A. Ushkurnis; her aunts, Mary, Antoinette, Jenny, Philomena, and Gracie; and her uncles, Georgie, Johnny, Franky, and Anthony.

Please donate to Adams Square Baptist Church, https://www.adamssquarebaptist.com/donate

Funeral Services will be held privately. Mercadante Funeral Home & Chapel are honored to assist the family.