No matter where Donna Cosulich was, she found it impossible not to make contributions to those around her.  By every standard, she was a Renaissance woman who excelled in everything she did.  As a young woman at the University of Arizona, she was a very athletic person and excellent student with a B.S. and M.S. in chemistry.  She received her Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford University in 1943 and shortly thereafter, began work for American Cyanamid in Bound Brook, NJ, and later for Lederle Laboratories division of American Cyanamid.  There she distinguished herself as an organic chemist, an X-ray crystallographer, and a mass spectroscopist.  Among her crowning achievements was being awarded the patent for the drug methotrexate in 1952 (one of 16 patents total), a drug that is still used in the treatment of some cancers and severe rheumatoid arthritis.  Donna continued to work at Lederle Laboratories into the early 1990s and moved to Tucson in 2003.

Donna always had a passionate interest in music and was a gifted singer.  She also was a devoted member of the Episcopal churches she attended, particularly St. Paul's in Montvale, NJ, and St. Philip's in the Hills, Tucson.  While in New Jersey, she held numerous positions in her parish and in the Diocese of Newark.  At St. Philip's, she was a very active lay person who started the Green Team and a Member Mission group to involve other lay people in the ministry to others.  She also had a pet ministry to nursing home patients and shut-ins where she would take her pet rabbits to provide therapy to those in need.  Wherever Donna went, she created a cadre of very close friends, many of them who were also "gamers" who loved to gather to play cards and other games.

Donna left this community of St. Philip's in December of 2011 at the age of 93.  However, before she died, she became the "anonymous" donor of record for the creation of solar panels at St. Philip's.  Her legacy will be felt for a long time as it is intended to significantly offset the electrical bills for the church for many years.  Her passion for the environment was one of her most lasting gifts.

Sunday we will honor her for her commitment to her St. Philip's community and the broader concern for the health of the earth, our island home.  May we who follow in her footsteps continue to view the earth as the fragile and delicate equilibrium that is the product of over 4 billion years of evolution.

Godspeed Donna!  We, your St. Philip's community, are most grateful for your life and gift that is intended to sustain us for many years!