Donna Mae Walther

Donna Mae Wardrip was born on March 2, 1938 to William Dale and Ramona Louise Wardrip in Des Moines, IA. Donna grew up in Des Moines until her family moved to Nevada, IA when she was 11. She graduated from Nevada High School and attended Drake University in Des Moines. She graduated from Drake in 1960 with a Bachelor's degree in education. Donna taught 5th grade at Longfellow Elementary School for 1 year in Belle Plaine, IA (1958-59) before returning to Drake to finish her degree. In Belle Plaine, she met the love of her life, John Walther, and they were married in the Presbyterian church in Nevada on May 27, 1961.
Together they made their home in Ames, IA where Donna continued to teach 5th grade at Beardshear Elementary School. The day after John graduated from Iowa State, their first child, daughter, Kelley, was born in 1965 and Donna became a stay at home mom. They lived briefly in Princeton, IA before making their home in Renwick, IA were they lived for the next 17 years. In Renwick, Donna quickly made many friends and soon joined the Order of Eastern Star, Gertrude Chapter, in 1966. In 1967, their second child, son, Steve, was born, followed by another daughter, Kyla, in 1969.
Donna started the 1st Campfire Girls group in Renwick in 1974 and remained a leader for the Hiawatha Council for about 8 years. She made many trips with her car loaded with girls to Campfire events in the Fort Dodge area.
In 1983, the the family relocated to Slater, IA. John passed away in 1993. Donna worked several different jobs through the years, mostly in Ames. Her last job was as a sample lady for Sam's Club in Ames. She enjoyed meeting new people and also seeing many of her old friends from Renwick, Ames and Nevada while she worked there.
She continued with her love of Eastern Star in Ames and later Polk City. She held many of the offices, some more than once, and was a member for nearly 60 years. In 2008, she was honored to be asked to be the Grand Chaplain for the State of Iowa. She spent a wonderful year traveling to OES events around the state with her beloved Grand Family.
Donna loved her family and went all out to make sure the holidays were special for her grandchildren. For Christmas, she always made fresh donuts. The annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Walther home was something that the kids always looked forward to all year. She loved to play board and card games and taught all the kids to play Heart and Soul on the piano.
Donna moved to her independent living apartment at Wesley on Grand in Des Moines in 2019, where she continued to live up until 10 days before her death. She loved her new friendships and had many people there who loved and cared for her up to the end. Donna spent her last days in Assisted Living at Wesley on Grand supported by Hospice.
Donna was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, William David, her husband, John, mother-in-law, Pat Warnick and sister and brother-in-law, Mary Lou and Chuck Kaufman. She is survived by her 3 children, Kelley Pudinski (Steve) of Cedar Rapids, Steve Walther (Shauna) of Huxley and Kyla Walther of Knoxville, 8 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life service will take place at Wesley on Grand, 3520 Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50312, on April 26th at 3 PM. All are welcome. Donna's favorite color was red. We ask that those who attend please wear something red in her honor.