Donna Dowdy

Donna Jean Dowdy

DELAND, Fla. — Donna Jean Dowdy (née Naugel), 83, passed away at her home in Deland, Florida on Friday, November 14, 2014.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Robert Russell Dowdy, who died in 1989 in Burlington, Iowa, and by one sister, Deloris Salmon, and one brother, Harry S. Naugel, Jr.

Donna is survived by her sister, Lorene Carlton, 87, of Warrensburg, Missouri; her four children: Denise Nunez of Orlando, Florida; Sandra K. Hamon (John) of Cumming, Georgia; J. Scott Dowdy (Marianne) of Venice, Florida; and Angela Dowdy of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Donna was also the proud grandmother of five grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and four step-great-grandchildren, and aunt to numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

Donna was born on November 5, 1931 in Fort Dodge, Iowa to Gladys Patterson and Harry S. Naugel. She graduated from Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia, Missouri in 1949, and married Bob Dowdy, her high school sweetheart, in 1950. Over the course of eleven years, the couple welcomed their four children with Donna as homemaker. The couple moved to Washington, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, and Iowa due to Bob's naval service and career with GE. Donna studied poetry and accounting at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. She worked in accounting at Burlington Memorial Hospital and the Burlington Care Center in Burlington, Iowa. After Bob passed, Donna moved several more times to be near her children, with a final move to Deland, Florida in 2010. In the 1990s, she logged over 500 hours of service at the Halifax Health-Medical Center and Thrift Shop in Daytona Beach.

Donna was a voracious reader who enjoyed history, home decorating, and travel. She visited 49 of the 50 states (all but Alaska) and several European countries. Donna had a sharp mind and stayed up-to-date on events, politics, music, and all types of sports, especially tennis. She loved the CBS Sunday Morning television news magazine. She had an activist spirit and was passionate about fairness and freedom. Her children remember her as a caring and attentive mother who encouraged them to pursue their goals.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00pm, Saturday, November 22 at the Cloisters in Deland, Florida with Chaplain David Meyer officiating. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Donna Dowdy's life. A memorial fund has been established at the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. All are invited to share memories with the family at http://www.lankfordfuneralhome.com.