Donna M. Riley

Donna Riley, 91, passed away Oct. 19, 2018 while under Hospice care in Columbus. Donna recently moved to Columbus to be closer to her children but grew up and lived most of her life in and around Gnadenhutten, Ohio. One of seven children, born in 1926 to Murrell and Edith Campbell, she was a product of the Great Depression and married a serviceman returning from action in WWII. As was the patriotic custom in those days, three of her brothers and 2 sisters' husbands also served in that war and the Korean War that soon followed. She was the product of those devastating social upheavals and was engrained with the small town ethics and morals of those times. Hard work, the Protestant Work ethic, and the Golden Rule were the core values that she lived by and passed on.

After only 12 years of marriage, she divorced and was left with her fourth child on the way but raised them all to be successful, passing on lessons learned from her upbringing, seeing most of her kids off to college and to the service of our country

While raising her children: sons, Bill Davis and Mark Davis, now living in Columbus; daughters, Terri Romano of Apollo Beach, Fl., Nikki Jean Pierce (deceased), Coshocton, and the along the way welcoming Patricia Riley Dove of South Fallsburg, New York into our family; she supported her family in many jobs starting with washing and ironing shirts for 25 cents, working up to becoming sales manager in several large Department stores ranging from Washington D.C. to New Philadelphia.

She concentrated on working hard but still loved her grandchildren, Gary, Jeff, Mike, Matt, Rodney, Ben, Natalie, Tiffany, Lisa, Andrea, and Bret; plus 20 great grandchildren, 2 great great grandchildren; and 14 nieces and nephews.

Donna will be interred at a private family gathering in her hometown of Gnaden which she loved dearly, where she will rest in the shadow of Stocker's Hill for foreseeable time and in the protection of our Lord for eternity.

Due to her love for animals, donations in lieu of flowers, can be made to The Humane Society of Manatee County. www.humanemanatee.org , where her daughter, Terri is a manager for that shelter housing animals looking for a second chance. Family has entrusted SCHOEDINGER NORTHWEST CHAPEL in Columbus, OH with final arrangements.