Donna Brown Steely

Donna married John Ed Steely in 1947, and they were lifelong partners in teaching, traveling, gardening, and hospitality. After his death in 1986, Donna greeted each new challenge of life with enthusiasm and courage, proudly calling herself a feminist and welcoming every new opportunity for travel, learning, and growth.

Family was central to Donna’s life, and her definition of family was generous and open-hearted. She was a gracious host, inviting generations of friends, family, seminary students, and wanderers to hymn sings, Thanksgiving dinners, camping trips, and star-watching parties in the back yard. Anyone who visited was apt to be sent away with a fresh tomato or a jar of homemade fig preserves.

Donna was a member of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church for more than 40 years, serving as volunteer, usher, committee member, Sunday school teacher and surrogate mom. She numbered toddlers, teens, and adults of all ages as her friends at Pullen.

Donna was a strong supporter of the Alliance of Baptists, serving on its Board of Directors in its early years. In her much later years, she traveled to Prague to assist in the renovation of the International Baptist Seminary; to Brazil with Habitat for Humanity; to El Salvador with Witness for Peace; and to Scotland to explore Celtic spirituality. She was a longtime supporter of Heifer Project International and many other charities in the causes of equality, education, peace, and the relief of suffering.

She is survived by one brother, Bill Brown, of North Little Rock, AR; son John and daughter-in-law Mary Dashiell of Meadows of Dan, VA; daughter Deborah of Raleigh; generations of in-laws, nieces, nephews, and cousins; and her dog Gus.

A celebration of Donna’s life will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 24, 2012, at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, 1801 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27605. A reception will follow in Finlator Fellowship Hall. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Pullen Memorial or to the charity of your choice.

Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's St. Raleigh, NC.