Deirdre D. Saunders | Company executive, 59

Deirdre Dixon Saunders, 59, of Gladwyne, a company treasurer who helped promote tourism in Philadelphia, died of colon cancer Jan. 29 at home.

Mrs. Saunders was treasurer and a vice president of Ametek, a manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices in Paoli. Before joining Ametek, she had been an executive with Exide Corp. in Horsham and Buckeye Pipe Line Co. in Radnor.

She contributed financial expertise to and served on the board of Philadelphia Hospitality, a nonprofit organization that provides cultural programs for groups visiting Philadelphia.

A native of Newtown Square, Mrs. Saunders graduated from the Shipley School and earned a bachelor's degree from George Washington University. She earned a master's degree in business administration from Temple University while working for Hay Group, a management consulting firm in Philadelphia. She and her husband, Morton Saunders, met at Hay and married in 1973.

She loved skiing in Vermont, he said, and golfing and sailing. She served on the boards of the Quissett Harbor House Land Trust and the Quissett Yacht Club in Falmouth, Mass., where she and her husband had a summer home.

For 20 years, Mrs. Saunders maintained a garden at an intersection near their home. She was inspired to plant the garden by the flowers she had seen on vacation in Bermuda, her husband said.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. Saunders is survived by stepsons Mort "Nick" Saunders Jr. and Randy Saunders; a stepdaughter, Sydney Saboonchian; and four grandchildren.

The funeral was Feb. 3 at Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr.