The Guelph Tribune is in mourning. We have lost a loved one who was ever so significant during her quarter-century at the Trib. She was a big player in this newspaper’s success, yet ever-so-quiet about it, just as she was quiet about her personal life.
Donna Eugine (née Morrison) died Tuesday at the way-too-young age of 46. Cancer.  She had a run-in with it previously and appeared to have it licked. It returned with a vengeance. And only recently did we learn that she also had multiple sclerosis. For several years.
That’s Donna. So private. Quietly taking it on the chin and not bothering others with such details.
What did Donna do here? In a nutshell, Donna and Klaudia Groleau – an inseparable tag team second to none – created  ads, melded them with editorial content and sent it off to the presses. Donna and Klaudia have always been the Trib’s last line of defence. They forever made us look good, be it correcting our mistakes or creatively winning design awards.
Funny thing, though – editorial and advertising departments take the spotlight, while Donna and Klaudia happily went about their business. That’s Donna, and Klaudia too: quietly and efficiently doing the work of four, paying the hoopla no never-mind.
Donna’s standard of excellence was unassuming, yet second to none. The calibre and body of her work is impressive and under-appreciated by some. This says nothing of the tens of thousands of pages she has processed over the years.
Donna and I are opposites. For more than two decades we shared constant deadline pressures. She routinely watched me pull out my hair. Blow a gasket. Rage.
Not Donna. Pay it no never-mind, this too shall pass, she would calmly say, smiling that sweet smile of hers.
Donna’s right. A wonderful trait, that calmness in the heat of battle She demonstrated this calmness and serenity in her dying days.
That’s Donna. No matter the adversity, she quietly went about her business in her own personal way.
Condolences to husband Cup and family. Further condolences to all who knew her and worked with her. Donna’s nuanced personal and professional contributions will be sadly missed.
cclark@guelphtribune.ca