A courageous, relentless humanitarian

When I first met Donna Cuthbert, it was at her house. We went downstairs into the Alliance for a Clean Environment office, filled with notebooks labelled and organized like a library. We spoke at her desk, then walked into the next room.

I saw it. Hanging on the wall, encompassing the entire wall, was a map. A huge map! This map was of the Greater Pottstown area and was covered in colored dots. Each dot represented a person with cancer. This was Donna’s cancer map. I was in shock. The dots formed circles and lines, too many to fully comprehend the gravity of the disease’s impact on the community. Our friendship began there.

We both shared a passion for clothing. We shared a love of children, family and work. We shared the search for truth. Truth was key. Many go about their lives ignoring truth, because of the pain that accompanies it. There was no stopping now. We sat back down, and I asked her what she hoped to accomplish most. Without skipping a breath, she said “Closing the landfill.”

The Pottstown Landfill in West Pottsgrove represented a massive reservoir of contamination. The smell could be noticed traveling down Route 100. Facts from official documents showed dumping of waste from other countries, even radioactive waste. Then Donna said “but this will never happen.”

But Donna proved her own words wrong. It happened. I know that she is at the heart of the landfill closure. Even Kathleen McGinty, Pennsylvania chief environmental officer, came to a Pottstown press conference at Donna’s request to better understand this danger. Not long afterward, the word came: the Pottstown Landfill would be closing. Donna’s years of hard research paid off. One toxic site closed down, and many future cancers would be prevented.

Donna also knew of heavily toxic chemicals that were across town at the OxyChem plant. People reported a yellow film that covered their cars, and they’d call ACE for information. Donna’s research continued. They asked Donna about cancers they felt were attributable to the chemical plant. In time, OxyChem closed as well. Donna’s wish of a healthier Pottstown was progressing. No one knows the true impact of these polluters.

I recall Donna collecting children’s teeth for the baby tooth study. The teeth were tested for strontium-90, a chemical produced only in atomic bomb tests and nuclear reactors. Teeth from the tri-county area had the highest strontium-90 concentration of any of the six nuclear plant areas studied, a precursor of cancer later in life. When renowned physicist Dr. Ernest Sternglass came to Pottstown to help with the tooth project, he stayed with the Cuthberts. Long hours were spent discussing the implications of radiation.

Donna had calls flooding in from people near the Limerick nuclear plant. Not only were there multiple cancers reported around the plant, but other events, which Donna documented in letters to the editor and on ACE’s show. People reported trains traveling through the power plant property – a red flag considering the enormous security risk posed by nuclear plants. It was documented that the cooling tower lights were out, still unlit even though the Limerick airport is just a mile away.

She lived a healthy life, using essential oils and natural remedies in her own home. This past summer for my birthday, Donna made me my own essential oil kit. Every time I smell my oils, I think of Donna.

We often enjoyed breakfast at Arlene’s on Asbury, when she and her husband Buzz were here at the shore.

Many remember her from her family clothing shop, Madaras in Stowe. Many remember her from Pottsgrove School Board meetings.

How do I describe Donna? Dedicated, courageous, relentless, passionate and humanitarian.

Even when Donna was sick, she never turned away a question about health or environment. She thought about others first. I miss her, and will never forget the enormous impact she made on the lives of many, including me.

— Susan Burke Ocean City, N.J. (formerly of Upper Pottsgrove)