Mother and son killed in crash

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November 20, 2009

By ANDREA VanVALKENBURG The Press Republican Fri Nov 20, 2009, 05:38 PM EST

PLATTSBURGH — Gladys and Robert Daignault had a bond closer than many mothers and son.

Whether the 89-year-old was attending weekly Mass at St. John’s Church or going on her cherished Sunday afternoon drives, her son, Robert, was always by her side.

“He just really cared about his mother,” family friend Kim Ryan said Friday afternoon. “They were always together.”

And it was together that the Daignaults’ lives ended in tragedy Friday morning.

State Police said Mr. Daignault was driving on Banker Road around 9:15 a.m. when he attempted to go through the Route 3 intersection and was struck by a Paula Reed’s van.

The 67-year-old former groundskeeper for St. John’s Church was killed upon impact from a lacerated aorta.

His mother died from her injuries at CVPH Medical Center a short time later.

News of their deaths left many shocked in their hometown of Keeseville, where Mrs. Daignault spend many years working in the Keeseville Elementary School cafeteria.

“She just loved children,” said Marjoria Zmijewski, who spent much of her life living next door to the Daignaults before they moved to Keeseville Country Gardens recently.

Zmijewski remembers when the Daignaults lived across from the Catholic school in the village during her younger years and said the family had a close bond from the start.

“When I was a girl there, they used to have me come in and have lunch with them, and they have always been a friend and neighbor. (Gladys) was just an amazing woman.

“She always had a smile on her face, and she was a really loving person. And a very, very devoted Catholic. She was just all-around terrific.”

When not in church or visiting loved ones, Zmijewski said, Mrs. Daignault loved spending her time knitting and reading, especially books by her new-found favorite author, Danielle Steel.

Mr. Daignault never married and always lived with his parents, working odd jobs, mostly landscaping.

Through the years, he helped care for his mother, especially after the passing of his father, Leo, several years ago.

“She didn’t drive so he would always take her to the places she needed to go,” recalled long-time family friend Sue Crowningshield.

She remembers Mrs. Daignault as a “very, very gentle person. Always willing to help someone and go the extra mile. She had such a positive look on life.”

Ryan said she “loved going riding with her son. And she was just the most gracious, quiet woman, a true lady. You couldn’t ask for a kinder person. It’s just so sad.”

State Police are continuing to investigate the crash, which left Reed with minor injuries.

Her condition at CVPH Medical Center was not available.

The accident left the state roadway near the infamous intersection closed for several hours Friday.

E-mail Andrea VanValkenburg at:

avanvalkenburg@pressrepublican.com