Donna Mae McDonald

Donna Mae (Reitz) McDonald passed away peacefully on April 5, 2025, in Azusa, California, at the age of 92. Donna was born on May 26, 1932, at home in Holstein, Iowa, to Maria Magdeline Rosburg and Robert Jochim Reitz, the eleventh of twelve children. When she was fourteen, her mother and stepfather, Archie Leeper, purchased a general store, and the family moved into the apartment upstairs. Her first job was scooping ice cream one night a week at a café where her mother worked as a waitress, and she also ran a paper route with her younger sister, Beverly. Donna graduated from high school in Linn Grove, Iowa, in 1950, one of just 18 students in her class. In the early 1950s, Donna moved to Burbank, CA, where she lived with her sister Ann and brother-in-law George while working the switchboard for a phone company. On October 31, 1953, at a friend's Halloween party, Donna met Raymond McDonald, recently out of the Navy. He drove her home and-at least in Donna's version-told her they were going to get married. She never forgot it; he insisted he never said it. They married the following spring and shared 44 years together. Donna and Ray raised three daughters-Debbie, Lauri, and Kathy in Tujunga and Lake View Terrace before settling in Glendora, CA. Donna stayed home to raise her daughters in their early years and was active as a Brownie and Girl Scout troop leader. In Lake View Terrace, Ray painted a baseball diamond at the top of the cul-de-sac, and Donna often joined in games, especially when the bases were loaded and her daughters needed a home run. Donna had a gift for making quick connections, easily chatting up strangers like old friends. She was quick to laugh, make offhand jokes, or poke fun at herself to put people at ease. She and Ray were both avid bowlers and enjoyed bowling together once a week in a league. Her children remember her creating fun and laughter in daily life, whether at home, in their neighborhood, or on camper trips to Iowa, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Carpinteria, Rock Creek, and Kings River.

When her children were older, Donna worked part-time and enjoyed gardening and latch hook projects. After Ray's death in 1998, she continued working as a beloved lunch lady in the Charter Oak School District in Covina, CA. The job brought structure to her life, and she worked into her late 70s, eventually becoming the district's oldest employee—a milestone celebrated in a school assembly before her retirement. She was a joyful presence in the lives of her grandchildren and took great interest in their activities and accomplishments. She kept photos and notes on her refrigerator-sometimes even maps showing where they were in the world-so she could follow along with their lives. Her grandchildren remember her humor and the way she would often break into song, playfully belting out Girl Scout camp tunes or old folk songs while snapping her fingers. In her later years, Donna spent time with friends and family. She played bunko with her sister Beverly and bowling teammate Betty, traveled to casinos with her neighbors Chuck and Diane, and visited her sister Luella on weekends to shop, go to church, play Yahtzee, or spend time with their brother Gene. Back home, she kept up her daily walks and was a familiar sight in the neighborhood-easily recognized as the white-haired woman moving briskly down the street. She is survived by her three daughters: Debra Cournoyer and her husband Duane; Laura McDonald; and Kathleen Earl and her husband Jeffrey. Her grandchildren are Ryan Mann and his wife Zhang Ning, Kara Key and her husband Ryan Key, Shelby Mann, Christopher Cournoyer and his wife Rachael, Hana Cournoyer and her husband Chance Mills, Garrett Earl and his wife Jennifer, and Allison Earl and her husband Nicolas Ulm. Her great-grandchildren are Silas and Eloise Mann, Oliver and Addison Key, and Mason and Cassidy Earl. Donna is also survived by two siblings, Dwayne (Pete) Reitz of Dennison, Iowa, and Beverly Ritner of Sierra Vista, Arizona, along with many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews, extended family, and friends.