Donna J. Hitchner

1958 - 2025

Donna J. (Van Vliet) Hitchner, 67, of Newark, DE and formerly of Bridgeton, NJ passed away late Saturday evening April 19, 2025 at the Wilmington Hospital - Hospice after a valiant battle against an aggressive form of non-Hodgkins' lymphoma.

She was born in Bridgeton on March 10, 1958 and was the daughter of the late William Jr. and Jean Baitinger Van Vliet. She married Alan Jay Hitchner in 1978.

Donna graduated from Bridgeton High School with the Class of 1976 and earned a Bachelor's Degree in 1979 from Glassboro State College (now Rowan), completing a four-year degree in three years. She later attended and received her Master's Degree in Special Education in 1989 at the University of Delaware.

Donna lived a life dedicated to serving others. Upon receiving her teaching license, she taught at Bridgeton Christian School before moving with her husband to Newark, DE in 1980. She taught First through Fifth grade for the Cecil County School District until the birth of her first child, DeAnna, in 1990. Her second child, Alan James, was born in 1994.

Donna left the workforce for a time to raise her two children. When they were old enough, she returned to work as the Christian Education Director for Newark United Methodist Church (NUMC) from 2002-2018. She also worked part time at a local homeless shelter from 2006-2010, helping many people affected by the 2008 housing crisis get back on their feet.

After leaving her role as Director of Christian Education at NUMC, Donna returned to teaching for a time to help disadvantaged children caught up in the juvenile justice system. As an English teacher for Parkway Academy North in Wilmington, DE, Donna was a mentor and guide to middle-schoolers who were at risk of falling into the school-to-prison pipeline.

Finally, Donna served as the executive director for the Methodist Action Program in Wilmington, DE. Her work was dedicated to promoting positive social change through organizing and coordinating the many social advocacy organizations in the First State to pursue goals that aligned with the social principles of the United Methodist Church.

In addition to her husband of 46 years, she is survived by one son, Alan James "Jamey" Hitchner and one daughter, DeAnna Jean Hitchner, both of Newark.

Besides her parents, she was preceded in death by her only sibling, William Paul Van Vliet, in 2018.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend memorial services at the Freitag Funeral Home, 137 W. Commerce St., Bridgeton on Saturday morning April 26th at 11 o'clock.

There will be a memorial visitation from 10 to 11 o'clock.

The interment will take place privately at a later date at Deerfield Presbyterian Cemetery in Upper Deerfield Township.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are requested to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 3 International Drive, Suite 200, Rye Brook, NY 10573.