Donna Sue Weaver Perry

Perry, Donna Sue Weaver
passed away peacefully on Nov. 4, 2009, at the Hospice of the Valley, East Mesa. She died knowing that she would soon be in the arms of her beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She was born on Nov. 30, 1928, in Beatrice, Neb., to Donald H. Weaver and Charlotte Bruner Weaver, the ninth of twelve children, and was raised through the turbulent eras of the Depression and World War II. Donna explored her love for writing on the newpaper at Beatrice High School, from which she grauated in 1946, and later at her hometown newspaper,
the Beatrice Sun. To further her opportunities, she enlisted in the Women's Air Force in 1949, and was stationed
at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. An out
standing soldier, a full time reporter on the base newspaper, she also freelanced for the San Antonio Express newspaper. Donna was accepted for Officer's Candidate School, to study journalism at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. She decided to forego that opportunity because by then, she had met the love of her life, Jim Perry, a fellow soldier stationed at Lackland. The two married on Christmas Eve, 1949. The couple had two daughters, Charlotte, born in 1951, and Jamie, born in 1953, and moved to California. After raising their family, the Perrys moved first to Yuma, then to Mesa, Arizona, where they resided since 1985. Donna continued writing with her distinctive script, often opining in local newspapers on anything from politics to prayer, all thoroughly researched, and also taking the time to write long letters to close friends. Throughout her life, she used her writing talent to enter contests that required essays or jingles, and frequently won prizes that she joyously shared with her family and friends. It was after moving to Yuma in 1979 that Donna found a like minded community that would foster her spiritual growth. She belonged to a prayer group team, led a Bible study group, and practiced the healing art of Reiki which Jim and she shared with others for the next 30 years. Donna was a published poet, and when she coupled that talent with her love for the life of Jesus and her encyclopedic knowledge of the wonderful ballads of the Gershwin era, the result was a collection of beautiful devotional songs. The way she conducted her life reflected her chosen values, her generosity and love of family being the focal point. This generosity extended out into the community and the larger world as she gave to charities too numerous to mention-mostly benefitting children worldwide in need of surgeries and other basic needs. While in Mesa she and Jim donated yearly up to 1000 lbs of homegrown citrus fruits to local food banks. Donna is survived by her husband Jim; her daughters, Charlotte Aguilar of Bellaire, Texas and her husband, Carlos; Jamie Carter of Prescott, Arizona, and her husband, Ed; grandchildren Emily, David, and Kevin Carter of Portland Oregon, and Victoria and Gabriel Aguilar of Bellaire, Texas, great-granddaughter Maria Suarez; brother David Weaver and his wife Judy, of Gardnerville, Nevada and their three sons, Jimmy, Billy, and Gerry, and brothers Jack and Joe Weaver of southern California; niece, Norma of Beatrice, Nebraska. The family is grateful to the staff of Hospice of the Valley for it's compassionate, angelic care of Donna in her final days. The family is preparing a tribute to Donna's life in DVD, to be sent to family and friends, in lieu of a memorial. The family asks that donations in Donna's memory be made to Hospice of the Valley. Second Birth by Donna Sue Perry "......Only many years hence, when asked to recall The grand epiphany of my journey through this life, Did I know unerringly, and to the depth of my soul, God had written His name in my heart."