Donna Bland Burrows

Donna Bland Burrows died peacefully at her home in Rolesville, NC on March 6, 2026, at the age of 78, after a long struggle with Parkinson's. She was born in Christiansburg, Virginia on July 14, 1947, and was raised in Blacksburg, Virginia. She is preceded in death by her parents, James Walter Bland, Jr. and Marie Dillon Bland. Remaining family include her high school sweetheart and husband of 57 years, Mike Burrows, her brother, Jim Bland, his wife Barbara and their three children, her two daughters Wendy Burgess and husband Edde, Christy Gorman and husband Rick, and her five cherished grandchildren.

Donna held a deep interest in teaching and learning. In 1969, she graduated from Radford College and went on to spend 28 years, from 1986 to 2014, as a middle school language arts teacher at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, NC. In 2000, she was the recipient of the Helton Excellence Award created for teachers who go above and beyond to "encourage the love of learning to last a lifetime". In 1994, she received her Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from NC State University with her thesis titled: The Free Speech Movement - Thirty Years of Student Activism 1964-1994.

She will be remembered as a kind, loving, selfless and devoted teacher, daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother by her entire family, all of whom never had to wonder how proud she was of them. Besides her love of teaching, she was an avid reader, tennis player, runner and she hardly ever missed an early morning workout at the AE Finley Y. She loved being outside in nature and had a special affinity for rabbits, hummingbirds and the deer who came to visit. She always had some M&Ms and Cherry Garcia ice cream to share.

After her retirement, she enjoyed spending time with her family, especially her five grandchildren, while looking for shells on the beach, traveling and taking long walks in the woods around her beautiful little home by the lake, built by her husband, Mike.

She will be missed beyond measure but the lessons she taught, both in the classroom and in her life, and the love she gave so freely to her students, friends and family, will be carried in the hearts of so many people forever.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Parkinson's Foundation.

A celebration of Donna's life will be held at a later date this spring.