Paula Ethel Dworetzky

Paula Ethel Dworetzky was born to Mollie and Jack Dworetzky, in Brooklyn, NY, on October 24, 1931. She grew up in Brooklyn, surrounded by the large Dworetzky clan, who were observant conservative and reform Jews whose roots were originally in Eastern Europe. She had one older sister, the late Elaine Markell; her father, Jack, was a big- hearted dentist, who Paula fondly recalled, was very popular in his local community, often giving out free dental care to immigrant neighbors who were needy. This kind of service clearly left a deep impression on Paula, who would, in her adult working years, seek out employment where she could be of service and make a difference in the lives of those in need.

Paula attended two different colleges: Champlain College in New York, and later, after moving to Colorado with her sister and husband Bill Markell, she went to Denver University, where she was a theater major. At that time, she met Edwin Herbert Donchey , with whom she married, and had their first child, Stephanie. Soon after, they moved back to New York, and Paula was unfortunately just a few credits short of receiving her degree.

During the 1950’s, Paula gave birth to five children: Michael, Jimmey, Elizabeth, David, and Janey. The family resided in Merrick, N. Y., where Paula had a few very close friends who also had very large families. Merrick was a close knit, pleasant community, and Paula, a stay-at-home-mom, spent many years caring for the needs of her large family. Paula loved children! She loved outings to Jones Beach, to the local outdoor swimming pools, trips to The Museum of Natural History, and instilled upon her children the importance of education for bettering oneself in life. She loved and cherished learning. Paula also was proud of her Jewish heritage and fostered a strong Jewish cultural identity in her family, even though she was not extremely observant.

During the years in Merrick, Paula, who loved the performing arts, was also involved in a local theater group, and once had a important role in the production of the musical, “Guys and Dolls”. Paula loved musicals and adored the musical scores of the Broadway productions of Oliver, Mame, and many others. A highly cultured woman, Paula also loved classical music as well.

In 1967, the family moved to Orange, California, and after 2 years, Paula and Edwin divorced. The transition to a new life as a single parent of 6 adolescents/school-age children would prove to be extremely challenging in the ensuing years. Paula began working, at several retail store jobs, at a senior care facility, and a number of years later, after moving with Janey to Newport Beach, she landed her first professional position at Children’s Services of County of Orange, and worked there for 11 years .It was around this time that Paula went back to school to try to complete her degree, both at community colleges and at The University of California at Irvine. This would prove to be an elusive goal, but she loved learning and showed great determination in her pursuit of this goal. She also took Spanish classes, and her conversational ability in Spanish was extremely helpful in a number of public/hospital positions she held.

Paula was also quite ahead of her time in the arena of health: for years before it became popular, Paula was doing aerobic exercise from the Canadian Airforce Exercise book daily in her home and took up jogging at the beach.

On January 3, 1986, her beloved youngest daughter, Janey Donchey, was killed in a car accident. Paula never fully recovered from her grief.

In about 1991, Paula, her daughter Elizabeth, and granddaughter Gina moved to Bellevue, Washington. Paula secured an administrative position working at the highly reputed Seattle Children’s Hospital. However, the climate of the Northwest didn’t suit them, and they moved back to California, where they settled in Irvine.

Later, Paula also worked at Children’s Hospital in Orange. Paula, using her excellent people skills, New York sense of humor, and Spanish, was adored by her patients and doctors alike. One family continued to send her a Christmas card for many, many years! She worked at Children’s until she was forced to retire, in her early 70’s.

Paula Donchey was a complex, strong woman, and a fighter: she faced much adversity during her long life, in the form of breast cancer in her 60’s, economic hardship, much sadness from the death of Janey, and battled an aggressive form of cancer during the last year of her life. However, she displayed incredible resilience, strength of spirit, and perseverance. Much of her faith, inspiration, and cognitive acuity can be attributed to her love of reading! Paula was a voracious reader---whether it was, the classics, non-fiction, historical fiction, international fiction, or self- help books on health and exercise, Paula got infinite pleasure and deep wisdom from the joy of reading. She read dozens of books on the Holocaust, and equally enjoyed Mark Twain, Tony Morrison, and Charles Dickens.

Paula also derived much spiritual faith from Catholicism, to which she converted in her 80’s. This newfound faith gave her needed solace and further deepened her compassion for others.

Paula will be remembered for her deep love of her adult children; for her love of dogs, art, salami, interest in other cultures, her hilarious, irreverent Jewish sense of humor, & staying current on world issues. At age 91, her mind was as sharp as a tack, and she spent the last few weeks of her life telling stories, giving her opinion on politics, and joking with her adult children, caretakers, and grandchildren.

Paula Ethel Donchey is survived by her 5 adult children, 5 grandchildren (Gina, Jason, Nathaniel, Sara, Lexi), and a great- grandson, KiKi.