Gloria D. Dunseath

Gloria Niemi Dunseath, 85, of Van Buren, died Monday, June 9, 2014 in Crouse Hospital. Gloria was born March 6, 1929, in Brooklyn, the oldest of two daughters of Mildred Thiessen and Julian Niemi. Julian left the family when Gloria was young so she considered her mother's second husband, Felix Swietlowkowski, as her father. Gloria attended schools in Brooklyn and graduated from Sarah J. Hale High School in 1947. She worked for Burroughs Corp. in New York City and while there, she met fellow Burroughs employee, David A. Dunseath Sr. Both David and Gloria had grown up in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, but didn't meet until after high school when they were working at Burroughs. She married David on April 29, 1950 and they lived in Brooklyn before moving to Staten Island in January 1960. They added four sons to the family, all being born in the same hospital in Brooklyn. During this time, she worked in the film library for the New York City Board of Education. In July 1974, the family moved to North Syracuse. Gloria continued raising the boys in a house on Herman Drive and was involved with PTA at the boys' schools. After her husband died suddenly in 1978, Gloria continued living in North Syracuse and worked at General Electric. After her youngest son Kirk married in 1986, she moved to a townhouse in the Village Green development in Van Buren and continued working at General Electric until her retirement in 1992. Later, she sold the townhouse and moved to apartments in Camillus, where she survived not one but two apartment building fires. After the second fire, she moved to Village Green Apartments. Gloria was a long-time member of Luther Memorial Lutheran Church in North Syracuse, joining in July 1974. She loved to wile away the hours immersed in a good book or doing a crossword puzzle. She got many of her grandchildren hooked on books early in their lives by buying them some of her favorites, such as Madeline. She also was emphatic about remembering people's special days and always had cards ready to be mailed to mark birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions. In fact, while she was recovering from a recent fall, she made sure her son went to her apartment to mail out cards she had ready for family and friends with upcoming birthdays. Gloria was predeceased by her mother, Mildred, in 1977; father, Felix, in 1961; husband, David, in 1978, sister-in-law, Carolyn O'Brien, in 2006; and companion, Donald Fahey, in 2005. Gloria is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, David (Cheryl) of Syracuse; Philip (Cindi) of Ohio, Scott (Cathy) of Syracuse, and Kirk (Mary Ann) of Van Buren; sister, Muriel Niemi of Brooklyn; and many nieces and nephews. She also was "Nana" to her seven beloved grandchildren, Ashleigh Dunseath, Lauren (Colin) Hartnett, Katie (Brendan) Whipple, Scott Dunseath, Jeffrey (Katy Burns) Dunseath, Kelsey Dunseath and Philip (Melissa) Dunseath. She also is survived by four great-grandchildren. There will be no calling hours. A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, June 12 at Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, 435 S. Main St., North Syracuse. Gloria will be buried next to her husband in North Syracuse Cemetery following the funeral service. Donations in memory of Gloria can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a cause that was near and dear to her heart, at 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105; or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research at Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163-4777 or go to the website at https://www.michaeljfox.org and click on the green "Donate" tab in the upper right corner. Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Buranich Funeral Home, Camillus. The family would like to thank the staff on the Fourth Floor South of Crouse Hospital for the exceptional care they provided to Gloria and compassion they showed to the family in Gloria's final days. Share condolences at www.BuranichFH.com