Jeannie Battey Donaldson

July 26, 1949 – May 18, 2023

Jeannie Battey Donaldson, a lifelong resident of the Hackettstown area, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, May 18, 2023 due to Alzheimer’s complications.

Jeannie is survived by her loving family including her children Jeff Donaldson (Claudiene) and Neilie Donaldson, granddaughters Amanda Donaldson McMaster (Larry) and Lauren Donaldson, great granddaughters Olivia and Lora Jean McMaster, her brother William Richard Battey (Chris) and a large extended family including many nieces, nephews, and beloved friends. Jeannie was predeceased by her parents, Richard and Doris (Rossy) Battey, sister, Susan Battey SantaMaria, maternal grandparents, William and Ada (Current) Rossyand paternal grandmother Lulu Stutz.

After graduating from Hackettstown High School in 1967 Jeannie attended Mount Union University in Alliance, Ohio. In 1968 she returned to Hackettstown to start her family. Jeannie later received a Bachelor’s degree from Centenary University while working full time and attending night school. Jeannie was employed by M&M/Mars for more than 30yrs. She began as a temp in the plant and worked her way up to roles in R&D, the test kitchen, Military Customer Service, and retired as a Customer Service Manager.  In her retirement she continued to work as a client relations manager for a home health aide company, managed a veterinary office, worked at her niece’s AllState Insurance Agency, and volunteered caring for cats awaiting adoption. Jeannie was a woman of many talents including writing and designing greeting cards, baking and recipe testing, and even a stint utilizing her quick wit and sarcasm to perform stand-up comedy. She had a big heart and giving back to the community was important to her – from donating to food drives or various animal organizations to sponsoring families/individuals for Christmas. Jeannie loved animals and had many pets including countless cats, dogs, llamas, goats, sheep, and a chinchilla. She also had “wild pets” including turtles, chipmunks, deer and a pond full of koi. As an avid reader she loved spending time at the library or discussing books, often recommending and lending her favorites to anyone willing to read them.

As her mind faltered she was unable to read but she still found great comfort in the books she had collected and would bring a few everywhere she went. She was a collector of all things Hackettstown – from every Oracle year book she could find to historic post cards and souvenirs from her grandfather’s Dairy Bar.

Her last few years were difficult as Alzheimer’s robbed her of her memories and made her fearful but we were able to provide her the opportunity to live out her days as she wished…at home amongst the treasures of a life well-lived.

As per her wishes, there will not be any services. If you would like to make a donation in her honor please visit https://karenannquinlanhospice.org/elementor-17750/ or mail a check payable to Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, 99 Sparta Avenue, Newton, NJ 07860, or to the Alzheimer’s Association https://www.alz.org/nj, or your favorite pet charity.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Cochran Funeral Home, 905 High Street, Hackettstown, NJ 07840. For those wishing to leave online condolences, please visit, www.cochranfuneral.com