Donna grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with her parents and younger brother Chuck before the family moved to Signal Mountain when she was 14 — where her sister Nancy was born. She graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1955, where she was active in Chi Omega sorority, then taught at the School for the Deaf in Knoxville before living briefly in Dallas. She returned to Signal Mountain in 1971 and called it home for the rest of her life.
After getting recertified for teaching, she spent 25 years in the classroom — first in East Ridge, then at Signal Mountain Elementary — teaching first and second grade. To this day, family members regularly run into former students who remember her warmly.
Donna loved to travel. She visited Russia, Japan, and many corners of the world, but the highlight was a year spent in Oxford, England, on a Fulbright Teacher Scholarship — swapping her Signal Mountain classroom and home with a teacher in Oxford. She called it one of the greatest adventures of her life. Even so, she found deep joy in spending many of her years at home, close to her brother, sister, and their families on the land her father developed in the 1950s.
She was active at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church, the Garden Club of Signal Mountain, Stock Minder's Investment Club, and Scenic Land Board.
Donna is survived by her siblings Chuck Zeiser and Nancy Sims; her children Jim (Sally) Newsome, Wayne (Amy) Newsome, Nancy Butler, and Bill (Sheila) Newsome; her grandchildren Ashley Butler, Katelyn Newsome, Sam Newsome, Alex Butler, Grace Parker, Audrey Landford, Sarah Kaufmann, Josh Newsome, Nash Newsome, and Cooper Newsome; and five great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church on April 11, 2026, at 2:00 pm, followed by visitation at the church.
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes memorial contributions to the Gideons or Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church, links are down below.
Arrangements are by the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory, and Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson, TN 37343.
Please share your thoughts and memories at www.chattanooganorthchapel.com
