If you've ever attended the Arboretum's plant sales, you undoubtedly thought everything ran quite smoothly, even for such a huge, well-attended undertaking fueled by a largely volunteer group and a limited staff. My husband Gus is fond of saying, "Every job done well looks easy." No one embodied that more clearly than Anne Donnelly, longtime Landis Volunteer Coordinator, until her passing in October of 2023.
Anne moved quietly but efficiently throughout the sale, often wearing a winning smile and always a sturdy Carhartt work apron. She took care of details large and small to ensure a successful event for shoppers and volunteers alike.
When we lost Anne suddenly, leaving us heartbroken, her family held a standing-room-only celebration of life at the Arboretum, of course. Condolences poured in from far and wide to comfort her family - from those whose lives Anne had touched in some way.
And then Anne's Landis family started ruminating about how best to memorialize her at the place she loved, the Arboretum.
Jim Poole, publisher of Cobleskill's Times Journal, wrote that Anne was "a beloved force of Nature, one in a million." After her 2005 retirement as a SUNY Cobleskill biology professor, Anne wore many hats: Landis volunteer, chair of several committees, Board president, and, in a role for which she will likely most be remembered, volunteer coordinator. She even stepped in when the Executive Director's position needed to be filled on an interim basis - a selfless act typical of Anne's dedication to a cause she supported with all her heart.
Nancy Konta, a friend of Anne's for 45 years, recalled her tremendous positive impact on others. She reminisced about Anne's "persuasiveness". "Anne had a way of getting a lot of people involved in whatever she was interested in. She was such a cheerleader for Nature, and loved people, drawing them together," Nancy said.
Anne and Nancy were members of an exercise class whose participants were devastated by her death, and who decided to donate a bench to the Arboretum in her memory. It sits right next to a stone from Anne's family, lovingly adorned with a plaque displaying Anne' s image (with that unforgettable smile) and a beautiful and fitting poem.
And shortly afterwards, a second memorial stone joined the first, only a few steps away. It features a large and intricately detailed mosaic dragonfly, created by Chandra Burkhart, our resident graphic artist and Board trustee. Why glass mosaics? "Because it sparkled. And Anne sparkled," Chandra explained.
She spent many months mulling over the perfect way to bring this project to life and honor Anne's memory, initially developing a prototype of the image before finalizing her design - a testament to the love and respect Anne engendered in her Landis family.
Why a dragonfly, and why are all these memorials located at our pond behind the barn, visible from the window of our own Landis used bookstore? (I can still recall Anne's delivery of an overstuffed box of treasured old books from dear friends whose belongings she helped downsize when illness set in. Yet another example of Anne's loving legacy.)
Professor Anne Donnelly was the longtime instructor of our exceedingly popular "Dragonflies and Damselflies" program. Surveyor for the New York State Natural Heritage Project, she was renowned for her expertise in the study of these magical creatures. Her knowledge of the subject matter was boundless, as was her enthusiasm in delivering the class. It was often dubbed a "bucket list" experience. Children attending the program were given nets for catch and release at the edge of the pond, while adults attending with or without kids were envious but also delighted in the class themselves. All left with a wealth of new information, additional resources to pursue, and fond memories to share. Where else than this special pond to commemorate the life of Anne Donnelly?
Anne loved life and never let its challenges of aging, aches and pains, or day to day bumps - or boulders - in the road deter her from seeking new ways to grow and flourish, at home or wherever the journey took her. Fulfilling her many leadership roles at Landis, traveling to Alaska to explore its natural wonders with her family, or joining an eco-tour in Oaxaca, Mexico for a "botanical adventure for thrill seekers" were among a few of her passions.
As her close friend and likewise seasoned Arboretum volunteer Gail Browning remembered, Anne liked to say, "Life's a field trip!"
And so it always was for Anne Donnelly. Another grieving friend, Board trustee Nolan Marciniec, noted at the time of Anne's passing that she was "a loving, generous, and gracious human being . . . and truly lived life several times over in her lifetime . . . ."
Follow Anne's lead and find your own field trip. And don't forget to look for the dragonflies.
Click below to read other Newsletter articles about Anne Donnelly:
LANDIS PORTRAITS: Anne and Pat Donnelly
The Landis community mourns the loss of Anne Donnelly on October 4, 2023