Donna Klabunde

Donna Clare Klabunde was born on October 2, 1949, the daughter of William and Frances (Canfield) Van Arsdol in Denison, Iowa. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. Donna grew up in Denison and received her education from St. Rose of Lima Catholic School and graduated from Denison High School with the class of 1967. She then attended beauty school and then started her own salon.

On October 4, 1985, she was united in marriage to George Klabunde. Together they made a beautiful, blended family with their six children: Nancy, Todd, Lisa, Tina, Curt, and Jill. She switched careers, worked hard and retired in 2011, after 20 years at Farmland.

A devoted member of St. Ann Catholic Church in Vail, Donna cherished time with family and had a variety of hobbies. She enjoyed watching sports, crocheting, coloring, gardening, playing cards, bingo, and cheering on her favorite teams, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. She and George especially loved watching the games together.

Donna also had a love for travel, and she and George shared many memorable trips to places such as North Carolina, the Dominican Republic, Tennessee, Missouri, Florida and many more. She firmly believed that life was meant to be experienced fully, not simply lived.

Donna passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 20, 2025, at Manning Senior Living at the age of 75 years, six months and 18 days. She was preceded in death by her parents and siblings: Pat Miller, Bill Van Arsdol and Rita Newman.

Donna is survived by her husband of over 39 years, George Klabunde of Vail; six children: Nancy (Pat) Merwald of Omaha, Todd Klabunde of Wahoo, Nebraska, Lisa Kieckhafer of LaVista, Nebraska, Tina (Kurt) Groesbeck of Monroe, North Carolina, Curt (Sherri) Rosener of Ankeny and Jill (Josh) Buhrow of Waverly; 12 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; sister, Gerri Mason of Altoona; many special nieces and nephews; and other family members and friends. She will always be loved, and she will never be forgotten. Thank you for being here to celebrate her life with us.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 2:30 p.m. with visitation from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. all on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, at St. Ann Catholic Church in Vail. Inurnment will follow in the St. Ann Cemetery near Vail. Memorials may be directed to the family.