Ex-Batavia chamber leader Donna Dallesasse remembered
Donna Dallesasse retired from the Batavia Chamber of Commerce at the end of 1999, but that didn't mean her interest in the health of Batavia's business community ended.
She maintained a membership and was a frequent visitor to its offices and a beloved guest at events. She proudly handed out an award named after her to chamber members who performed extraordinary service.
She would have lunch with current Chief Executive Officer Holly Deitchman to discuss ideas. And she beamed every year when introduced as a guest of honor at the mayor's annual state of the city address to the chamber.
"She was a shiny, happy, smiley person," Deitchman said Tuesday about Dallesasse. "We valued so much more her contributions to our organization."
Dallesasse, 75, died Sunday.
She was the chamber's first full-time executive director, from 1983 to 1999. She retired to spend more time with her grandchildren.
"She was the one who really elevated the chamber to be a true business organization," Deitchman said.
When Dallesasse took the job, there were about 50 members, and the organization was mostly social, Deitchman said. When she retired there were more than 300 members.
Dallesasse tried out projects to help businesses grow and to connect more to the community. Those projects included big vendor fairs, an annual four-month community leadership symposium, and the development of a downtown task force. The latter led, for example, to the construction of the Riverwalk.
"She was just constantly out in the community," Deitchman said.
Dallesasse was a lifelong resident of the area, born in Aurora in 1940, to Angeline and Louis Greviskes. She was a 1958 graduate of Madonna High School in Aurora and married Jim Dallesasse of St. Charles in 1960.
She helped form the Batavia Park District and was one its first board of commissioners, from 1969 to 1975.
She also volunteered with the Batavia Historical Society and at Holy Cross Catholic Church. She and Jim organized an annual Parish Show fundraising dinner for many years. She also taught sewing to students at the first Holy Cross school.
When Batavia turned 150 in 1984, Dallesasse was chairman of a committee that published a sesquicentennial cookbook.
Dallesasse, who has been widowed since 2008, is survived by son Michael, daughter Theresa Pohorsky, three brothers, a sister, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
A wake will be conducted from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Moss Family Funeral Home, 209 S. Batavia Ave. Funeral services will begin with prayers at 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, followed by Mass at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Cross, 2300 W. Main St.
Memorial gifts may be made to the church's building fund or to the American Diabetes Association, 1701 N. Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA 22311, or at diabetes.org.