At age 75, she left the earth peacefully the morning of July 9, 2020. Born in Phoenix, AZ on March 30, 1945, she grew up in a military family and was preceded in death by her father USAF Chief Master Sergeant Smiley Echols and her mother Virginia (Biggs). Donna was a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and called Arizona, Alabama, Oklahoma, California and even England home at various times. She graduated from Lakenheath High School at the Lakenheath Royal Air Force Base in the United Kingdom in 1963.
In 1967 she married her partner of 53 years, Butch Edgell. They raised two beautiful daughters in Mesa, Arizona. In 1986 Donna graduated Summa Cum Laude from Arizona State University with a BA in Education and in 1992 received her master’s degree from Northern Arizona University. She became a librarian and worked for Mesa Public Schools for more than 25 years, running the media centers at McArthur and Entz Elementary Schools. She frequently commented about how much she enjoyed running into her old students and learning about their lives.
She is survived by her husband Butch, her daughters Denise Edgell and Pam (Russ) Korcuska; grandchildren: Riley, Emily, Matt and Ben, her brother Jim (Cindy) Echols; her aunt Betty Ogdon; and her extended family of nieces, grand-nephews, grand-nieces, and cousins. She was a beautiful soul both inside and out, loving wife, mother, grandmother, aunt and devoted friend. Her passion for reading often found her leaving words on paper when something had touched her. “When someone from your life becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure”, Donna, you make our treasure chests overflow.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to support the Battle of the Books program in the Mesa Public Schools. Donations can be made through the Mesa Foundation at mesa-foundation.org
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