Donna grew up in Burnaby with her parents and three siblings. Ray, Janice, and Marion. Her mother passed away when she was in her early twenties, which was difficult for her. The experience of the loss would shape how she would see the world for the rest of her days. She loved the people in her life fiercely.
Donna moved to the Kamloops area in the early 1970s where she met the man who would become the father of her children. She gave birth to her daughter. Kathleen (Kathy) in 1973, and in 1976 she gave birth to her son, Jason.
Although not her intention, Donna became a single parent in 1976. With limited means, she raised Kathy and Jason in Kamloops. Donna worked hard to create stability in her house. Despite her financial circumstances, she ensured that she met her children’s needs. Although there were no extras, she cooked dinner every night, and Sunday mornings she made pancakes from scratch. She gave her children her attention and love and supported them in all their achievements and challenges. She was very protective of her children and was their loudest advocate when required.
When her children were young, she attended Caribou College and then worked in home care - assisng elderly clients with cooking, personal care, and household chores. This allowed her to work during the school day, eliminating the need for childcare. She enjoyed her work immensely and made great connections with her clients.
After an injury to her back, she was unable to physically work in homecare. To fill up her idle time, she began volunteering at her children’s elementary school. It started as a parent volunteer in her son, Jason’s classroom. Over the years it expanded to assisting in the library and all things administrative. She loved the routine of going into the school daily and enjoyed assisting teachers with laminating, printing, booklet creations and art projects. She continued to volunteer at the school even after both of her children had finished grade 7 and moved on to high school.
Donna loved to sew. She had a green Singer sewing machine and made everything from dresses for Kathy and her nieces to Raggedy Anne and Andy Dolls and Care Bear stuffed animals. She would sew holiday-themed tablecloths and aprons as well as dolls and bears to sell at flea markets to earn extra money for Christmas. Her sewing passion connued aer her granddaughters were born. She made them dresses, bedding, and dolls.
Donna also loved to bake. Homemade cookies and cakes were a staple in her house. She baked cookies every week. Peanut Buter cookies were a family favorite.
Christmas was a special time of year for her, and she would expand the baked offerings to include various tarts, Shortbread and Fruitcake. Christmas baking was a big production at her house and the baking would start in October and would end once there was no room left in the freezer. Her Christmas cakes were immensely popular, and word spread around. By the late 1980s people were paying her to bake Christmas cakes for them. It was a task she took very seriously and continued the tradition into her seventies.
In the early nineties, she moved to Victoria with her son, Jason. She found an apartment on Hillside Avenue and started a new chapter of her life closer to her father, sisters, and nieces and nephew.
Shortly after her move to Victoria, she and Jason started delivering newspapers for the Times Colonist. This job sent them out into the world when everyone else was sleeping. Donna did not drive, and 7 nights a week, she would go out to work at 1:00 AM and deliver her newspapers on foot. She had multiple routes and had a modified wheelchair to carry newspapers in. She would walk many kilometers each night. Even though her paper customers were all sleeping when she delivered their paper, she still managed to get to know them through monthly visits to their houses for subscription collections. She knew all the names of the pets of her customers and befriended most animals she saw on her routes. She would share stories of her customers and their pets with friends and family. When she rered at 65, Jason took over some of her paper routes. This allowed her to stay in touch with her favorite long-me customers.
In 1997, she became a grandmother to Sasha. Sadie followed in 1999 and Abbie in 2003. Donna loved her granddaughters and was so proud of them. Even though they did not live in Victoria, she took regular trips to Calgary and Kamloops to spend Christmas and birthdays with them. She would share stories about them with her friends and customers and would enjoy telephone conversaons with them whenever she could.
In 2021, she got to meet her Great Granddaughter Haisley Grace. Although her health had begun to decline and she could no longer walk, she was so happy to meet and hold her. She was living in long-term care, and she would make Jason take her to the gift shop so that she could buy Haisley gifts that she was no longer able to make herself.
In early 2022, Donna had a critical health event brought on by congestive heart failure. She had become unresponsive and was not expected to recover. She surprised her doctors and bounced back. She had been a lifelong smoker, and after her health scare, she quit smoking. She stayed a non-smoker for the rest of her life. The doctors warned her that CF was progressive, so Donna decided to make the most of the time she had left. In her last six months of life, she enjoyed frequent visits with her family. Jason was a daily visitor and spent every afternoon with her.
On September 25, 2022, Jason went in to visit Donna at Aberdeen Hospital. He was running late because his papers had been late the night before. He still had a route he needed to go out and finish. It was a warm and sunny afternoon, and he decided to take Donna along with him to deliver the papers. He hooked his paper bag onto the back of her wheelchair, and they headed out to deliver the last of his papers. They were delivering one of Donna’s old paper routes. For the two of them, it was like a walk down memory lane. Donna had the opportunity to say hello and chat with some of her favorite past paper customers. She was so happy to see their familiar faces. On their way back to Aberdeen Hospital, they stopped by McDonalds, and she had a Filet-O-Fish burger, which was one of her favorites. Neither of them knew that it was her last day, but with love, they made it her best day.
The next day, September 26th, 2022, Donna passed away suddenly while care staff were assisting her out of bed. Jason was by her side, and Kathy was on the phone.
Donna led a simple life.
She loved fiercely, and she kept trying even when she did not know how or if- it would work out.
She always remembered everyone’s birthday.
She had a child-like sense of humor.
She loved the beauty of a sunset, and she loved wolves.
She loved old hymns. If you were quiet, you could hear her sing with her sweet soprano voice while she did dishes.
She had a collection of favorite shows and movies that she would happily watch over and over.
She loved stuffed animals. She had many all with their own unique names.
She called Jason “Turkey” (her nickname for him) until her last day.
On April 18, 2023, Donna’s family will go to The Cabin on Gabriola Island to spread Donna’s ashes in the same place as the ashes of her mother and brother.
The property at Gabriola Island was one of her most favorite places on earth.
Donna Cote was:
The Daughter of Grace (Deceased) and Harold Miles (Deceased)
The Sister of Ray Miles (Deceased) Janice Saxby, and Marion LeFeuvre
The Sister-in-Law of Kent Saxby and Trevere LeFeuvre
The Grammie of Gabrielle (Deceased), Sasha, Sadie, and Abbie
The Great Grammie of Haisley
Auntie of Christina Miles, Darren Saxby (Deceased), Adrienne Saxby, Alicia Duch, and Kelsey King
Great Auntie of Reese, Henry, Rosie, Ruthie, Sawyer, Miles, Brody, and Bailey
Cousin of Murray Stockton, Jeannete Stockton (Deceased), Kim, and Kenny
Mom to Kathy and Jason.
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