Donna Campbell Whiting

Donna Campbell Whiting 1946-2025
Donna Campbell Whiting, 78, of Fayetteville, AR, passed away at her home on July 31, 2025, surrounded by her loving family.
A native of Eudora, Arkansas, Donna was born in Dermott, Arkansas, the youngest child of Horald (Harl) and Ollie Mae Campbell. The Campbell family owned the Mobile Concrete Service Company, and Donna often spoke of Eudora as having been an ideal place to grow up. The Delta being a sportsman's paradise, Donna loved hunting and fishing with her father, and he enjoyed showing off his daughter's marksmanship skills to his friends. Donna was also a pilot, and the summer after her sophomore year of college, she became the first woman to perform a solo flight in Chicot County, Arkansas.
After graduating from Eudora High School, Donna attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Education in 1968. Donna returned to Eudora where she was elected the first President of the Eudora Education Association in 1969. From Eudora, Donna moved on to Central Arkansas and was instrumental in building the burgeoning Gifted and Talented programs to serve gifted students in the state. Donna was a member of the first cohort of teachers in Arkansas to receive an MSE in Education for the gifted from University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1982.
In a career that spanned 43 years Donna served as a classroom teacher, an Adjunct Professor, a Governor's School instructor, an Area III Coordinator, as well as the Director of K-12 Gifted Programs for Cabot Public Schools for twenty years, and the Director of K-12 Gifted Programs for Conway Public Schools until her retirement in 2012. Donna also served as the President of the Arkansas Association of Gifted Education Administrators (AAGEA), a role in which she served as a Legislative Liaison, always fighting for the rights of gifted students and educators. Donna received many rewards over the course of her career from the College Board, AAGEA and Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education (AGATE), including the Award of Excellence in 2011, and the President's award in 2024. Donna was uncompromising in her efforts to improve education in Arkansas, and she educated, encouraged, and mentored countless students and educators throughout her life.
Donna loved to travel, particularly to New England. Nantucket may have been her favorite place in the world. Donna was an avid gardener, and was still planning garden projects right up to the end of her life. In 2021 Donna was diagnosed with cancer that was deemed inoperable. Undaunted, Donna endured years of treatment, including two rounds of a clinical trial. She gifted her family with four additional years of love and laughter through sheer determination. Donna was beauty, kindness, and grace – with a spine of absolute steel. She will be forever missed, but leaves a legacy of love, creativity, generosity, and a lifelong interest in learning to her family and friends.
Donna was preceded in death by her father, Horald Campbell, her mother, Ollie Mae Campbell, her brother, LTC (Ret.) Charles L. Campbell, and her father-in-law, SMSgt Philip D. Whiting, USAF (Ret.). She is survived by her loving husband of 41 years, Stephen B. Whiting, her sister, Martha (Sissy) Campbell, her son, Samuel C. Probasco (Alison), her daughter, Susan E. Probasco (John Finkbeiner), her mother-in-law, Rachel Whiting, and her granddaughter, Peyton E. Probasco, as well as a loving network of cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
A funeral service will be held on Saturday, August 30th at Eudora Baptist Church, 339 S. Archer St., Eudora, Arkansas, 71640, with visitation beginning at noon, and services at 1p.m. Internment will follow at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Hwy 159 South, Eudora, AR. Final arrangements have been entrusted to Griffin-Culpepper Funeral Services in McGehee, AR.
Donations can be made to Hope Cancer Resources in Springdale, Arkansas, or to your favorite charity in Donna's name. Please think of Donna when looking at beautiful flowers. There is a lovely parallel between nurturing flowers and nurturing growing young minds, and Donna did both throughout her life with great joy.
Online guestbook can be signed at www.griffinculpepper.com