Donna Jeane Crawford, age 84, of Papillion, Neb., died May 29, 2013 at Seward, Neb.
Donna was born Oct. 1, 1928 in Duluth, the daughter of Earl and Gladys “Violet” Savard. The granddaughter of some of the original settlers of the North Shore of Minnesota, Donna grew up on the shores of Lake Superior in the town of Grand Marais.
Her mother’s family, the Samskars, were noted fishermen on Lake Superior and Isle Royale.
Her father’s family was French Canadian and were renowned woodworkers and crafters.
Donna graduated from Cook County High School in 1946 and St. Scholastica University in Duluth in 1950 with a degree in social work. She moved to Omaha shortly afterward to take a job with a local utility company. She met Harold Crawford in the summer of 1951 and married the love of her life on April 12, 1952.
Donna’s life was taking care of her family that consisted of daughters Barbara and Ann. While the girls were growing up, she was a stayat home mother who prepared scrumptious meals and kept an immaculate home. She was a voracious reader who instilled that same love of books in her daughters and visited with friends as much as possible.
When her daughters were in high school, Donna went to work at Bryan High School in the school cafeteria. She enjoyed her many years there making numerous friends who remained close to her even after she retired.
During their retirement years, Harold and Donna enjoyed traveling as much as possible to Europe and around the United States. They loved each other’s company and learning new things together. They also looked forward to visiting their five grandchildren and attending the extracurricular events the kids participated in. When Harold passed away in 1998, Donna focused her energies on travel with friends, going out for lunch with her girlfriends, and driving to Utica and Kearney to see her family.
Donna was preceded in death by her husband Harold; parents Earl and Violet; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Wanda and Lavern Rosentrater; and brother-in-law Charles Lehman.
She is survived by daughters Barb (Doug) Barth of Utica, Neb. and Ann Keefer of Kearney, Neb.; sister Barbara Lehman of Edmond, Okla.; grandchildren Matthew (Amy) Barth of Kearney, Neb., Eric (Rachel) Barth of Lincoln, Neb., Kelsey (Trent) Linabery of York, Neb., Andrew Keefer of Denver and Joel Keefer of Grand Island, Neb.; two great-grandchildren, Aiden Keefer and Petyon Barth, both of Kearney; nephew Steve Lehman and family of Houston; niece Merri Jo (Gary) Halstead and family of McCook; nephew Tim Rosentrater and family of Callaway; as well as a host of friends.
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