Donna Mae Sassi

Donna Mae Sassi, 91 of Lima, passed away on Saturday, November 26, 2022 at Lima Convalescent Home with her loving family by her side.
Donna was mother to two daughters, Sherri (Clarence) Roller and Judy (Jack) Laferty; grandmother to three, Jonny (Juanita) Roller, Wes (Paula) Roller and Amanda (Eric) Bantner and great grandmother to five, Cheyenne and Nicole Roller, Mya Roller and Cyrus and Quinn Bantner. She dearly loved her family and was very, very proud of all of them.
She is preceded in death by her mother, Mary Bitters Davenport Hamilton; father, Homer "Hank" Davenport; her only sibling, Richard C. "Dick" Davenport; her husbands, John Stemen, Paul Fry and John Sassi; nephew, Denny Davenport and a niece Karyn Crider.
Donna was an avid bowler; she received a trophy for high series and a patch for and "Over 200 Game". She also received two trophies for high score in the Northwest Ohio Bench Rest Shooters Gun Match. Among her other accomplishments, she loved that she won the Lima Jackstone Championship and still has the jackstones from that year; she was in the 6th or 7th grade at the time. Donna sang with the "Sweet Adelines" and went to a competition in Indianapolis, IN at the Convention Center. Donna also took tap lessons from Jan's School of Dance and danced in two recitals held at the Old Lima Senior High School. Actresses and Dancers Ann Miller and Eleanor Powell were her female idols and Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor were her gentleman favorites. She was an autograph hound too; she obtained many at the old Memorial Hall events.
Her love of writing poetry got her poem "The Joy of Today" published and many other poems posted on a poetry website.
Among her other hobbies, she loved crossword puzzles, gardening where she planted many varieties of flowers, she was a forever coupon clipper, enjoyed watching old black and white movies, playing her accordion and organ and listening to Classical music. Among her singing idols were Dennis Morgan, the Four Tenors, Lauritz Melchori, Nelson Eddy, Enrico Caruso and Paverotti. She loved to harmonize to songs of the 30s and 40s. Beverly Sills and Kathryn Grayson were more of her idols.
For 30 years, she was a member of the Health Spa on Elm Street where she would swim a mile three times a week.
Donna was a Beauty Consultant with Fashion Two Twenty for a number of years and she later enjoyed a number of years with Lady Finelle.
Her jobs were as fun for her as they were for those she worked with and for. She worked at various restaurants downtown, she delivered The Lima Star Newspaper, worked at various bars in Lima including The Pioneer, Adams and more, drove for D&T Limousine Service transporting railroad personnel to and from motels and The Robb Avenue station and finally retiring from Hawthorn Hills Country Club as a waitress.
One last brush stroke on the life painting of Donna is her love for her various dogs and cats. From the ones she raised as she raised her daughters to the special place in her heart for Tootsie and Susie who kept her company later in life. They were all rescue animals; most chose her and were rewarded with all the love any person or animal could ask for.
Her daughters would like to thank everyone at Lima Convalescent Home for her care they gave Donna for the last three plus years. All of the caregivers, those who are still there and the ones who may not still be there. We wish we could name each and every one of you, but we are sure we would leave someone out and we do not want to do that. We and they all know she was not the easiest resident to care for and they also know the name Sassi was perfect for her. They kept her hair done, her stuffed cats at her side and made sure she got the candy we provided for her chocolate being her favorite, of course. All through the pandemic, they made it possible for us to have visits with Mom. Whether it was at her window, Facetime or social distancing, they helped make it happen and we are ever so grateful.
Mom, your mom has waited 38 years for you to come to her! Now go catch up and enjoy the rest of the family too.