A man once said, "There are two things that last forever, people and the Word of God so invest your time in those two things." Aunt Donna invested in many people! I am blessed to have been one of them.
By the time I was born Aunt Donna had 7 children and her baby was already 7 years old. She and Uncle Bill had such a special relationship. I always admired how "in love" they were. They enjoyed being around each other tremendously. Uncle Bill and Aunt Donna were my Mom and Dad's best friends. There were not many years when our families didn't live within a few miles of each other.
When living in Jackson I remember Aunt Donna working in their office on Oakridge. Papers were strewn everywhere and I am sure she had a zillion things to do between daily household care for a family of 9, not to mention, managing apartments and doing the books for their dry cleaning business but she always had time to talk to me. I remember Mom and Aunt Donna planning picnic lunches or camping trips. Hearing Mom, on the phone, say "o.kay Donna, you bring the mustard and I'll bring the mayo." Parties in the back yard on Oakridge, cribbage at the dinning room table, Marty asking for a crimpkin from Ron Maccies and Aunt Donna always giving him a few dollars for our treat, camping at Elk lake, Chrissy sitting on the coach nursing Aaron, hiding behind Aunt Donna when Ed and Gerry came in with their big beards, running into the dinning room table and Aunt Donna scurrying to get ice, then holding me afterwards, School Section Lake, boat trips to Caladesi Island, The hot tub at the Kentuckian, Making beds and cleaning rooms with her at the Kentuckian, sitting in the breezeway (o.k. the adults sat, I ran around in circles and Aunt Donna let me :-)), Aunt Donna's endless energy to serve everyone food and drinks, camping at Fort Desoto, walking on the beach, Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrtions, walks to the park near their house on Suemar Rd all flood my mind. One of my favorite memories of Aunt Donna comes after we moved (following U. Bill and A. Donna once again) to Dunedin FL. Matt and Renee were supposed to be watching me. I got tired of Matt's endless teasing, so I loaded up the wagon with stuffed animals, and with our dog Sorry at my heals, headed off to a safe haven, Aunt Donna's house! By the time I had walked the mile there Matt had called Aunt Donna and she was expecting me. She greeted me with a warm hug, then sat me down to cookies and milk. I wasn't quite finished with that when she came out of her room with a brand new doll for me! After a visit she drove me back home.
It's no wonder I (and everyone) will always remember her as Aunt Donna Mae Goodheart!
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