Aaron Donsky

Aaron Donsky, an accomplished college professor, administrator, and consultant, and beloved father and grandfather, passed away on August 22, 2024, at the age of 81 after developing an aggressive, malignant brain tumor. Aaron was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 14, 1943, to Edward and Cerna Donsky. When Aaron’s mother passed away from scarlet fever while he was a young child, Cerna’s sister, Anne, married Edward and raised Aaron as her own child. Aaron was raised in Rogers Park, surrounded by his extended family, and graduated from Senn High School in 1961. Motivated to stop sleeping on the dining room cot in their small apartment, Aaron was an excellent student who graduated high school early and entered the University of Illinois-Chicago while he was seventeen. He earned his first bachelor’s degree in just a couple of years, followed by a short-lived and half-hearted attempt at medical school, which had been borne more of a dedication to Anne than of actual interest. This detour eventually led Aaron to the field of sociology, which would nourish his intellectual curiosity for decades. Aaron worked alongside esteemed sociologists at the University of Illinois, including Julian Simon, and conducted some of the earliest research on the sociology of American prisons.

While in college in Champaign, Aaron met the first love of his life, Wendy Arbit Hite. They married in 1966, and in 1968 had their first child, Seth Michael. Several years later, the young family moved across the globe to Australia, the first of Aaron’s many extended stays across the globe. There they had their second child, Tracy Ann. They returned to the United States in 1973, and Aaron held a variety of teaching positions in the mid-West and East Coast while obtaining an additional graduate degree, a Master of Public Administration. Aaron and Wendy ultimately divorced in 1977 and Aaron relocated to Cleveland, Ohio where he worked as a college administrator.

In Cleveland, Aaron met his second love, Deborah Dominish. They married in 1979, and in 1981 they had their first son, Benjamin Edward. Soon after, the family moved to Hyde Park, New York, where Aaron worked as a dean at Dutchess Community College, forming friendships that lasted well beyond his tenure at Dutchess or in New York, and enjoying the most rewarding job he had in higher education. In Hyde Park, Aaron and Deborah had their second son, Alexander Jacob in 1986. Aaron and family relocated to Florida for a brief period before Aaron and Deborah divorced in 1995.

In 1996, Aaron moved to the city that he would eventually consider his true home: San Francisco. There he met his third love, Rosemarie Vertullo, and worked at the University of San Francisco. Aaron left USF to begin a specialized consulting practice in higher education marketing, which he would operate until he retired. Through his consulting work, Aaron helped improve the fortunes of colleges and universities not only in the United States, but internationally.

During his time in San Francisco, Aaron met the fourth and final love of his life, Adriana Escobar, while vacationing in San Miguel de Allende. After three years splitting time between San Francisco and Mexico, Aaron moved to San Miguel de Allende full-time in 2006.

Aaron moved back to the Bay Area in 2009 and continued his consulting work, helping establish and develop universities in Romania and Mongolia. Through this work as well as his professional writing, he was invited to serve as a visiting professor in Lanzhou, China, where he taught the principles of marketing for three semesters. This reignited his love of teaching, and upon his return to the United States, he resumed working as a professor in Silicon Valley, and then later in Staten Island, New York where he moved in 2019.

Aaron’s last decade was spent increasingly and lovingly with his children and grandchildren, with whom he built deep and meaningful relationships. Out of the many important positions he’s held, arguably his most impactful, treasured and befitting role was that of Pop Pop.

Throughout his life, Aaron continually strived to learn and to grow, professionally and personally. The world is a richer place for his passing through it, and his legacy lives on through the many people and institutions that he impacted.

Aaron’s absence will be felt and memories of him treasured by his son Seth (Patrick Corbin) Donsky, his daughter Tracy (David Gourley) Donsky, his son Benjamin (Rebecca) Donsky, his son Alexander Donsky, and his grandchildren, Anthony, Gideon, Wren, Isaac, and Asher.