Donya Dee Jenkins

Donya was born on May 25, 1950, to Joe Monroe Kilgore and Pauline Menser Kilgore in Hot Springs, Arkansas. She passed away at Baptist Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas after a long battle with lung cancer with her family by her side on October 31, 2023.
She is preceded in death by her parents; grandson, Justin Conrad and sister, Debra Luker.
She is survived by her husband of 48 years, Glen Jenkins; her children, Clinton (Joy) Cantrell, Tammy (Chuck) Peters, and Julie (Andrew) Felgate, all of Hot Springs, Arkansas; grandchildren, Megan (Tamara) Lunsford of Mountain View, Arkansas, Beau Cantrell of Cabot, Arkansas; Miranda (Nick) Peters, Jonathon Peters, Adam Cantrell and Eli Felgate, of Hot Springs, Arkansas; great grandchildren, Ryan (Jordan) Hunt of Lusby, Maryland, Kali Conrad of Little Rock, Arkansas, Jude and Ollie Golden of Hot Springs, Arkansas; great-great granddaughter, Amelia Hunt of Lusby,Maryland; sisters, Paula Evans of El Reno, Oklahoma, Sheila Mason of El Dorado, Arkansas and Pamela Ellis of Hot Springs, Arkansas; Aunt Teen Rowe and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
She attended Fountain Lake High School and graduated with honors from National Park Community College with a Certification in Hospitality Administration. She was a member of Phi Theta Kappa International Honors Society. She was employed for 28 years with Chamberlain/Chamber Door and 8 years with Weyerhauser before she retired.
She was a country girl that appreciated the simple things in life like going fishing. She loved watching and cheering for the Razorbacks. She was a very loving person and the most important things in her life were her family and her friends; she loved them deeply and with her whole heart. She truly loved everyone and never met a stranger especially if it was an opportunity to talk about her family and Jesus. Donya loved to make things for people so she could see their eyes sparkle and see them smile. She enjoyed sewing, crafting, and cooking. You never knew if she was going to make you breakfast, dinner, a blanket, a craft of some type or a pie. She had a huge heart and loved to help people. She just loved to love people and they loved her right back! Donya often opened her home up if someone needed a friend, if they were hungry, needed a place to stay or just needed the love of a mom or a Mamaw. Donya enjoyed spending quality time staying at home, going to Oaklawn or out to dinner at her favorite restaurants with her husband. She often passed her time once she was no longer physically able to go out by watching tv, playing solitaire, playing games online and interacting with others on social media.
She had an amazing team of physicians that took care of her and were very special to her. A special thanks to her medical team: Oncologist, Dr. Manjusha Kota at Kota Cancer Center, and her staff; Pulmonologist, Dr. Nayneshkum Patel at National Park Medical Center; Cardiologist, Dr. Timothy Bowen at Hot Springs Cardiology; Dr. Barton Parish and Casey Powell, CNP at West Gate Family Medicine; Otolaryngologist, Dr. Scott Stern and Oncologist, Dr. Lawrence Mendelsohn at Carti in Little Rock, Arkansas; Baptist Medical Center Little Rock's ICU/Hospice staff, and retired physician Dr. Troy Oxner.
Her honorary pallbearers are Chuck Perkins, Brad Brown, Joe Rigsby, Mark Wilson, Kent Gartin, Zack Ferrell, and Blake May.
Donya's visitation will be on Friday, November 3rd from 5:00-7:00 at Caruth-Hale Funeral Home on Section Line Road. Her Celebration of Life Service will take place on Saturday, November 4th at 2:00 at Caruth-Hale with Bishop Dennis Anderson and Pastor Ronnie Vanderslice officiating.