Donna Jeane Crawford, 84, of Papillion, died May 29, 2013, at Seward.
The daughter of Earl and Gladys “Violet” Savard, was born on Oct. 1, 1928, in Duluth, Minn. A granddaughter of some of the original settlers of the North Shore of Minnesota, Donna grew up on the shores of Lake Superior in the town of Grand Marais. Her mother’s family, the Samskars, were noted fishermen on Lake Superior and Isle Royale. Her father’s family was French Canadian and were renowned woodworkers and crafters. Donna graduated from Cook County High School in 1946 and St. Scholastica University in Duluth, Minn., in 1950 with a degree in social work. She moved to Omaha shortly afterward to take a job with a local utility company.
She met Harold Crawford in the summer of 1951 and married the love of her life on April 12, 1952.
Donna’s life was taking care of her family that consisted of daughters, Barbara and Ann. While the girls were growing up, she was a stay-at-home mother who prepared scrumptious meals and kept an immaculate home. She was a voracious reader who instilled that same love of books in her daughters and visited with friends as much as possible. When her daughters were in high school, Donna went to work at Bryan High School in the school cafeteria. She enjoyed her many years there making numerous friends who remained close to her even after she retired.
During their retirement years, Harold and Donna enjoyed traveling as much as possible to Europe and around the United States. They loved each other’s company and learning new things together. They also looked forward to visiting their five grandchildren and attending the extracurricular events the kids participated in. When Harold passed away in 1998, Donna focused her energies on travel with friends, going out for lunch with her girlfriends and driving to Utica and Kearney to see her family.
Donna was preceded in death by her husband, Harold; her parents, Earl and Violet; her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Wanda and Lavern Rosentrater; and her brother-in-law, Charles Lehman.
She is survived by her daughters, Barb (Doug) Barth, of Utica, Ann Keefer, of Kearney; her sister, Barbara Lehman, of Edmond, Okla.; her grandchildren, Matthew (Amy) Barth, of Kearney, Eric (Rachel) Barth, of Lincoln, Kelsey (Trent) Linabery, of York, Andrew Keefer, of Denver, and Joel Keefer, of Grand Island; two great-grandchildren, Aiden Keefer and Petyon Barth, both of Kearney; her nephew, Steve Lehman and family, of Houston, Texas; her niece, Merri Jo (Gary) Halstead and family, of McCook; her nephew, Tim Rosentrater and family, of Callaway; and a host of friends.
Services will be at 11 a.m., Monday, June 24, at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Papillion. Inurnment will be on Tuesday, June 25, at Fort McPherson National Cemetery near Maxwell. Volzke Funeral Home of Seward is in charge of arrangements.