Coronavirus claims life of American Red Cross’ Donna M. Morrissey, former Boston Archdiocese spokeswoman

By Marie Szaniszlo
BostHerald
May 23, 2020

https://bit.ly/3c7MqE1

1-5-2001 Donna M.Morrissey Cabinet Secretary For Public Relations and Communications Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston

Donna M. Morrissey, who served as spokeswoman for the Boston Archdiocese at the height of the clergy sex abuse scandal and later for the Red Cross, died on Friday from complications from the coronavirus, the organization said. She was 51.

Morrissey died at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said George K. Regan, whose public relations firm she worked for from 1998 to 2001.

For the last 17 years, she worked as spokeswoman for the East Division of American Red Cross Blood Services. In 2014, she was appointed director of national partnerships for American Red Cross Biomedical Services.

“Donna was a dedicated, kind and talented humanitarian who, over her many years with our organization, worked daily to encourage the need for lifesaving blood donations while also deploying to numerous large-scale disasters and mass casualty events, including Superstorm Sandy, Sandy Hook, the Boston Marathon bombing, the Pulse Nightclub shooting and Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, to name a few,” the Red Cross said in a statement.

“She never hesitated to do whatever she could to help those in need during their most devastating moments, whether that was a hand to hold or a shoulder to cry on … (Her) heartfelt compassion, vibrant spirit and unwavering dedication will be dearly missed by her Red Cross family.”

After working as a freelance assignment editor at WCVB-TV and nightside assignment manager at WBZ-TV, Morrissey became a senior vice president at Regan Communications Group, according to her LinkedIn page.

“Donna Morrissey was a tornado-like force who helped make Regan Communications what it is today,” Regan said. “When I first met this assignment editor at WBZ-TV, I knew she had what it takes to thrive in public relations. Donna had panache and duende, becoming a trailblazer for Boston journalists successfully crossing over to public relations. Donna was smart and sweet, and her heart was boundless. She only spent 51 short years on this earth but didn’t waste a second of it. Donna had an amazing zest for life, whether it was getting into (a) PR mud fight, going bowling or getting us in trouble at the yacht club while gassing up my speedboat on Martha’s Vineyard. … Our relationship always remained close, and I will miss my dear friend with the heart of gold.”

Friends and colleagues mourned her passing on social media, where she posted on Facebook as recently as May 7 about a rare, blue whale that had been spotted off Cape Cod.

“Donna M. Morrissey was a good, beautiful lady,” Sharon Morales Vargas wrote on Instagram. “… She was also witty, smart and vivacious. She and (I) last connected in January 2020. We hoped to meet up. She weathered the abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. … She loved deploying with the Red Cross to places where she was needed most. I’m going to miss Donna, but I know she’s in heaven for sure. God needed another angel.”

From 2001 to 2003, she served as Cardinal Bernard Law’s cabinet secretary for public relations and communications at the height of the clergy sex abuse scandal.

“Donna was a person strong in her faith, kind and committed to helping people in times of need. She will be missed,” the archdiocese said in a statement Saturday. “We pray for the repose of her soul and ask God’s blessing for the comfort of her family and friends.”