When Jennie Wasko received a call Aug. 26 that the second of her three sons, Donnie, had just died, she immediately called her only remaining son and told him, “Bruce, I just can’t bury another son. I don’t want to live anymore.”
Her grandchildren arrived at her Denver home a half hour later, only to find her unconscious on the floor with the phone off the hook. The 90-year-old woman, a picture of health and happiness, was pronounced dead an hour later of a broken heart and a massive stroke.
Donald “Donnie” Wasko, 62, had spent the summer in acute long-term care after suffering a crippling neck injury from falling off his cousin’s deck in Steamboat Springs on Memorial Day.
The two were buried within a few feet of each other in Rose Hill Cemetery in Commerce City last week, after services at the Hebrew Educational Alliance. Next to them are Irving Wasko, Jennie’s husband who died 12 years ago, and Mark, their eldest son, who died five years ago.
“Nanna was very strong, physically and emotionally,” said granddaughter Marne Norquist, 34, the oldest of Donnie’s four children. “She was baking brownies right before she died. She played cards with her girlfriends, had her nails and hair done. She was very proud.”
Marne is due in five weeks to deliver her first child, who would have been Donnie’s first grandchild.
Donnie, born in Denver, graduated from George Washington High School, the University of Colorado and University of Denver law school, which he attended at night while working days at luggage maker Samsonite. He practiced criminal-defense law for 33 years until he had heart surgery. He retired and moved with his younger brother, Bruce, to Steamboat Springs, where they bought the Arctic Liquor store.
“He was a colorful guy, wore bow ties to court and was on a first-name basis with everyone, whether it was a judge or in a restaurant,” Bruce said. “He was a terrific father who was at all his kids’ soccer or basketball games. He was the loudest parent on the field.”
He spent the last three months in acute rehab in Denver, on a ventilator. He was conscious but couldn’t talk.
“In spite of the fluorescent lights and the hospital ambience, his sense of humor still showed through,” daughter Marne said.
“He loved Mexico and was taking Spanish and salsa lessons before the accident. And he was a staunch Republican, to all of our dismay,” she said with a laugh.
Jennie Wasko was born on the north side of Denver in 1917, graduated from North High School and married Irving Wasko, a New Jersey transplant living in Lamar after serving in World War II. They moved to Denver and established the Lamar Produce Co., a wholesale market on Market Street that they ran for decades. They were married for 55 years until Irving died in 1996.
“She made such great fried chicken that I’d put extra pieces in napkins in my pockets and bring them home,” said Jerry Berenstien, Donnie’s lifelong friend and college roommate. “Our mothers were friends since the 1920s and would talk almost daily. My father worked at Miller Stockman on 16th and Lawrence when we were kids, and Donnie and I would go down there to play cowboys on the saddles.”
Jennie is survived by her son Bruce and six grandchildren. Donnie is survived by his brother and four children: Marne Norquist and Emily, Alyssa and Hartley Wasko, all of Denver.
Contributions may be made in their names to the Hebrew Educational Alliance, 3600 S. Ivanhoe St., Denver 80237; or the American Heart Association, 1280 S. Parker Road, Denver 80231.
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
