Gary Donner

Gary Donner, of Bluffton, SC, passed away suddenly on August 23 due to complications from pancreatic cancer.  In honoring Gary’s wishes, there are no services or visitations planned.

Gary was passionate and serious when it came to bridge.  He was shy when it came to meeting others and letting them see he was a kind, devoted, determined and brilliant man with a playfully dry sense of humor.  Getting past his defenses wasn’t easy, but those who managed were richly rewarded. Gary became more than just a new member of their family, he became a pillar of support, one that would be there for them always and support them even when they were wrong (which, of course, he would never shy from telling them).  He loved bridge and valued ethical play more than anything else in the game.  And being Gary, he held everyone—friends and strangers—to his high standard of ethical behavior, believing that it was imperative for the overall health of the game. 

Before his full-time pursuit of improving his bridge game, Gary was a successful business consultant and company owner.  He started working for Ernst & Ernst in MA, a consultant after earning his Masters of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.  After becoming a partner at Deloitte & Touche in New York City, Gary took a risk and formed a partnership with three other consultants to start a business that focused exclusively on Medicare Managed Care.  He was as determined in business as he was in his bridge game.  It came as no surprise to anyone who knew him that his new business venture brought him the same success he found in all of his pursuits; a success he shared with his partners and employees by giving them the opportunity to grow professionally and be rewarded for their work.  His impact was felt by so many of these individuals, growing into lifelong connections rooted in appreciation and admiration for the role Gary played in their lives.

Gary enjoyed so much in life, his family, good friends, good wine, good food. He was always up for a journey, to a bridge tournament in Turkey or a safari lodge in the Canadian arctic. He and his wife, Irene, travelled the world in search of adventure, kayaking with whales in Maui, swimming with orcas in the frozen waters off northern Norway and in the more temperate seas blue whales off Sri Lanka or sperm whales off Dominica.

Those that knew him best knew that Gary would give his all to help them in any way he could and look for ways to help even if they thought he couldn’t.  He was always there with strategy, plans and ideas. Gary’s friends and family are better for knowing and having had Gary in their lives.  He will be deeply missed.

Gary is survived by his wife, Irene Miller, their two cats, Athena and Zeus, his sister, Carole Siegel and her husband, Stuart, of Union, NJ, nieces and nephews Laurel and Brent Landau and Barry Siegel, great nephews, Jeremy and Caleb Landau, and the family of friends that he gathered and cared deeply for during his lifetime.

In lieu of flowers or other tributes, donations in honor of Gary may be made to the MUSC Foundation for the benefit of the Hollings Cancer Center.

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