Madelyn Donaldson, 87, passed away peacefully in her sleep on November 27, 2020, at her daughter and son-in-law’s home in Berthoud, Colorado, after a three year journey with lung cancer. She was born in her grandparents’ home in Newton, Illinois on January 16, 1933, the youngest of three children born to Bernadine and Roscoe Yoder. An excellent student throughout her school years, she was class Treasurer all four years of High School, and editor of the school newspaper where she earned a journalism award and membership in the National Honor Society. After high school she attended Eastern Illinois University as a physical education and business student. Those years, and her continuing education classes, prepared her for a number of positions throughout her working years that encompassed vast administrative assistance work.
She worked in the fields of real estate, insurance and politics, including time with the Illinois Secretary of State. One of her more philanthropic accomplishments was as a Volunteer Advisor for Central Illinois for the National Foundation-March of Dimes. Her job with the March of Dimes was to help coordinate fundraising by presenting programs for professional groups and giving interviews with news media, including radio and television. Her daughter can attest to the fact that she was an excellent speaker, as she was often Madelyn’s first audience. During her time at the March of Dimes, it was her distinct pleasure to meet Dr. Jonas Salk, the American virologist who created one of the first successful polio vaccines. In her retirement years in Phoenix, she was a registrar with the Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau. Meeting and greeting attendees from all over the world was custom made for her love of socializing and being with people. A lifelong believer in learning, she was quietly proud of the fact that, at age 69, she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.
Along the way, Madelyn met and married Marvin Donaldson, and they had a daughter, Leslie, and 17 years later, a son, Tony. Always creative, Madelyn made sure that birthdays and holidays were festive and full of gifts and ornaments, some purchased and many handmade. Her creativity also included interior design and decorating, cooking, dancing, and a multitude of crafts and needlework. She was an excellent seamstress and tailor, with the result that her daughter Leslie still brags about her mother tailoring five piece wool suits for her while she was in high school in the 1960’s. Her other passions in life were current events and politics, helping others in any way she could, and most of all, being with her family.
Madelyn was preceded in death by her husband of 45 years, Marvin, and her parents. She is survived by her son Tony Donaldson, his partner Shirley Stahl and her granddaughter Emily Donaldson, all of Santa Monica, CA, her daughter and son-in-law Leslie and Ed Capizzi, of Berthoud, CO, her sister Norma Fox and niece Leigh Wilson and her husband Michael, all of Gilbert, AZ, and her brother William Yoder, niece Teri Yoder and nephews Bill, Stewart and Dan Yoder, all of the Gulf Coast area, FL.
The family would like to thank the wonderful team of Trail Winds Hospice for their special care for Madelyn in her final months, and for their compassion for her family. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date on the beach at Waikiki, at Madelyn’s request. In lieu of flowers, donations in her honor may be made to Trail Winds Hospice (https://trailwindshospice.com) or to your local PBS station.
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