Donna Felten

FELTEN (SIMPSON), DONNA JEAN

Donna Jean Felten, 89, passed away peacefully into the arms of Jesus on Friday, March 28, 2025 in Jackson, GA with her sons Jeff and Doug by her side.

Donna was born and raised in Peoria, IL, daughter of Fred and Marjorie Simpson, and was a graduate of Woodruff High School.

She met and married the love of her life, Ross Henry Felten, in Peoria on September 6, 1958. Young and without great means, they spent a honeymoon weekend in Chicago-attending a Cubs double-header (where they swept the San Francisco Giants!) and a play. Mom would later say this was a foreshadowing of a very sports-oriented life as a boy-Mom!

She and Ross made several moves during their life together (from Peoria to Baltimore, MD/Albany, GA/Chicago, IL) before settling in Centerville, OH in 1971. Donna was a devoted stay-at-home Mom through all those moves, faithfully setting up the household, finding new doctors, settling the boys in new schools, working with Ross to find a church home, and orienting herself and the family to new neighborhoods and communities. She was the Felten homestead anchor, on whom all her boys/men relied in every practical aspect of life.

Donna also worked as an insurance claims adjuster for Metropolitan Life Insurance in Dayton from 1975-1985.

She was a devoted wife and mother, a "proper" woman in all she did, an avid gardener, knitter, china painter, fabulous cook and baker, fastidious homemaker, sports Mom extraordinaire, dog lover, counselor to many through life's trials and storms, friend to many (perhaps especially the friendless and lost), and the list goes on.

One of the most prominent descriptors of who Donna was as a person was that of care giver. While the examples are many, this may be best exemplified by her care for her own Mom. Following her re-location from Peoria to Dayton after the passing of Donna's Dad, the two developed an even deeper friendship over the next eighteen (18) years with Donna being a loving care giver, especially during the last four (4) years of her life.

Donna and Ross were faithful members of Fairhaven Church, Centerville, Ohio for more than forty (40) years, where she was involved in numerous women's ministries, missions trips, hosted home Bible study groups, and generally sought to be the hands and feet of Jesus wherever she went. The outliving of her faith in the finished work of Christ permeated her life and made her the woman described above (I John 5:11-13).

Donna was preceded in death by husband Ross, her parents (Fred and Marjorie Simpson), her mother and father-in law (Henry and Edna Felten), her brother-in-law (Donnie), her sister-in-law (Jane Gilanyi), brother-in-law (Frank Gilanyi), sister-in-law (Judy Simpson) and a host of aunts, uncles and cousins.

Donna is survived by both sons Jeff (former daughter-in-law Mary Pecchia), Doug (Liz), four grandchildren-Lauren Truitt (Eli), Shane Felten, Joel Felten (Abigail), and Anna Felten, five great grandchildren-Maxwell, Elliott, Jackson, and Carson Felten (Joel and Abigail) and Nolan Truitt (Lauren and Eli), brother Bob Simpson, nieces Karen Griffith (Bill), Sandie Everett (Tom), Becky Ellis , nephews Al Gilanyi (Chris) and Scott Simpson and cousin Bill O'Brien (Norah).

The family wishes to thank the entire staff of Westbury Center of Jackson for Nursing and Healing (Jackson, GA) for the loving care provided to Donna over the last three (3) years. You treated her like your own family, and as a result, you all have become part of ours forever.

A memorial service will be held May 3rd at Fairhaven Church 637 E. Whipp Rd

Centerville, OH 45459 at 11AM, with a luncheon to follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be directed to Fairhaven Church 637 E. Whipp Rd, Centerville, OH 45459. Please make the check payable to Fairhaven Church and note Missions Fund/Donna Felten on the memo line.