GILLI (SCHNEIDEWIND), Donna

Donna Schneidewind Gilli was born on November 12, 1955, in Plainfield New Jersey, as the second child of William "Bill" Henry Schneidewind, Jr. and Barbara Schneidewind. After finishing High School at Westminster School in Atlanta, she began her college education at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Donna was determined to spend her junior year in college abroad and ended up in Geneva, Switzerland, where she met her future husband, Marcel Gilli. After graduating from college, she enrolled in a master's program at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and started her teaching career at Georgia Tech.

Following her wedding in April of 1981, she and her husband moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where they resided until 1985. During that time Donna worked for various international companies as a telex operator and a secretarial assistant and taught English as a second language at Webster University.

In December of 1985, the family moved to Atlanta, GA where her husband accepted a position in a fellowship program at Children's Egleston Hospital. During the next twenty years, Donna was the absolute best mother to her five children. She engaged herself with heart and soul in her children's activities and became quite an expert in many areas of sport, in particular tennis and swimming. Donna became an avid fan of tennis herself, trying to improve her game with the help of many coaches, friends and collegiate tennis sons. In addition, she volunteered for nearly twenty years as a team captain, coordinator and vice president for the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association (ALTA), which earned her a lot of accolades for her hard work and her never ending enthusiasm for the sport. During the last fifteen years she kept her body fit while being a spin instructor at various locations in Atlanta, in addition she became a teacher for the "Silver Sneaker" program and rarely had a day without a workout.

She left her earthly home on Tuesday, June 28th, 2022, while on the tennis court doing what she loved.

She is preceded in death by her father, William "Bill" Henry Schneidewind, Jr. She is survived by her mother Barbara Schneidewind, husband Marcel and her five children Sara Ausburn, Chris (Christina), Kevin (Alina), Sean (Joylayne) and Allison Gilli, as well as her grandchildren Henry and Ivy Ausburn. She is also survived by her brother Bill Schneidewind III and two nieces Kerry and Kelly Schneidewind.

Funeral arrangements will be provided by H.M Patterson and Son Oglethorpe Hill. Her celebration of life will be held at All Saints Catholic Church 2443 Mt. Vernon Road in Dunwoody on Friday, July 8th, at 2 PM. Donations can be made in her name to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Special Olympics Georgia.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Jul. 3, 2022.

Memories and Condolences
for Donna Gilli

Sponsored by H.M. Patterson & Son-Oglethorpe Hill Chapel.

2 Entries

Maureen McCord

July 13, 2022

I was shocked and sorry to hear of Donna's passing as I'm sure we all were. She was a beautiful person inside and out and will be missed. Her beautiful smile and kind words were always welcome.
We worked at the JCC and DBC for about 10 years. Always a delight to talk to, as brief as the conversations might have been while coming or going to teach a class. One of our last conversations we had were about grandchildren. She was going to see her grandkids that day and was excited to do that. I told her she was lucky that they lived close to be able to visit and take care of them regularly. She definitely agreed with a big smile on her face. That's how I'll remember her. Loving family and life.

Mary LeBey

July 9, 2022

I so loved Donna. I hadn't seen her since our high school graduation, but we had recently been "reconnected" via social media, and I just was so happy about that. She had always been such a great memory of mine from my school years in Atlanta. When she came to Westminster, she was such a refreshing new soul, and I took to her immediately. Her smarts, her humor, and really just her presence as a person who made me smile every time I was with her.
I am glad that if we had to lose her, at least it was in a moment of doing what she loved. But I still just cannot believe that she is gone. We had spoken about how I was definitely going to come to our class' 50th reunion in a year, and that we would connect in person then.
I suppose I will just need to remember her now, and let the memories of her sparkling spirit pop up as they do from time to time, keeping her very much alive in my heart.
I send my condolences to the family, and hope that the shock of this loss wears off with the comfort of her spirit. Much love, Mary LeBey

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