Shauna Donnelly of Glenside has been an office manager at Freed-Givnish Life Celebration since 2024.
A 2011 graduate of Abington Senior High School, Donnelly previously served the same role beginning in
2020 at McGhee-Givnish in Southampton and Craft-Givnish in Abington.
Her foray into the industry came via her father, John Donnelly, a football and basketball coach at
Ancillae-Assumpta Academy in Wyncote.
“My dad coached John Givnish III and the children of Dan and Chris Solecki. Dan is the Chief operating
officer, and Chris is the Vice president, in-house council, operations and HR department.” she said.
“When they were buying all of the funeral homes, they reached out to my dad to see if I was interested.
And here I am!”
Donnelly, today a mother of an 11-year-old who attends Ancillae-Assumpta, initially found the new post
intimidating.
“Now, I love it. I love the relationships you make with families, and my co-workers are awesome. It’s like
a team. I enjoy it a lot,” she said. “It’s rewarding to form relationships and help families through a
difficult time. That’s my motivation.”
In addition to filing death certificates, state permits, and some accounting, Donnelly notes that she’s
often families’ first impression when starting the process of celebrating the life of their loved one at
Freed-Givnish Life Celebration.
“I try to make families feel as comfortable as possible. I think a lot of families assume they have silly
questions or they are a bother. I want them to know their questions or concerns are always welcome
any time. No one is ever a bother,” she said.
“I love Glenside. It’s family oriented. Everyone is friends with everyone. It’s a good community,” she
said. “Givnish, as a whole, is like a family. We help each other whenever it’s needed. We have a ton of
internal support.”
One day, she hopes to become a funeral director following graduation from mortuary school.
For more on the Freed-Givnish Life Celebration Home, you can visit their website. You can also read our previous stories about Bob Wustner, Funeral Director in Residence, Maddie Sydlowski, funeral director, and Christina Manero, funeral director.
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