Donna Bernaerts Kearns: Soft Heart,
Sharp Tongue
Even
after she became a successful computer programmer, Donna
Bernaerts Kearns never forgot what it was like to grow up
poor. So each Christmas, she would get her colleagues at
Accenture to participate in the Postal Service's Secret
Santa drive for needy children. "She would go out and buy
coats, boots and puzzles," said her older sister,
Rosemarie D'Amato. "She would spend her lunch hours doing
these things."
Ms. Kearns, 44, who was known as Donna Bernaerts at
work, had a soft heart, but she also could have a sharp
tongue. "She didn't let anybody take advantage of her,"
her sister said. "She was honest about how she felt."
Often, what she felt was the weight of a stressful
life, Ms. D'Amato said. Ms. Kearns frequently worked late
into the night from her home in Hoboken, N.J. She would
get to her office at 1 World Trade Center by 8 a.m. so
she could spend more time with her son, Joseph, who is
mildly autistic. Now, her husband, Edward, is learning
how to take care of Joseph, now 11, on his own. "It's all
on one shoulder now," Ms. D'Amato said.
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