Wallace, Donna Maude April 26, 1929 - December 27, 2023

Donna Maude Wright was born on April 26, 1929, in Garden City, Kansas to Don Sr. and Maude
(Campbell) Wright. Donna’s dad preferred to move every couple of years, so she spent most of
her elementary years living in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. She graduated from El
Dorado Springs Missouri high school in 1947 and worked for a short time at Crown Drug in
Kansas City before getting her teaching certificate from what is now Missouri State University.
She taught at Hall School north of Jerico Springs until she married Gaylord Wallace on
November 24 th , 1948, at the home of Reverend Frank Calame in Jerico Springs. To this union
were born 4 children, Lonnie, Jim, Sandy and David.
It was well known that Donna couldn’t tolerate sitting still and kept busy with sewing,
crocheting, crafting, reading, doing crossword puzzles and gardening. During the winter
months when she couldn’t garden, she would read, and watch tv mysteries series and would
browse through seed catalogs anticipating the upcoming spring when she could sink her hands
in the dirt once more. When she sat on her spot on the couch, she was always surrounded by
pattern books, gardening catalogs, spare bits of yarn, crochet hooks, water bottles, scissors,
and a magnifying glass. She considered herself the utmost expert in picking the perfect
watermelon or cantaloupe and fancied herself a bit of a carpenter and handyman. She loved
radishes, ice cream, rye bread, and junk food.
With the exception of living in Oregon during the Drought of 1954, Donna and Gaylord lived in
the Osiris area for their 72 years of marriage before moving into Nevada, MO in January of
2021. Even after moving into town, Donna kept busy at the Assisted Living Facility. She never
met a stranger and made many friends in the first few weeks of living at the facility. She took
over the raised bed gardens and prided herself in the vegetables and flowers she could provide
to her neighbors. She held a tea party for her new friends and kept everyone entertained in
the dining room with her various projects and antics. Her new friends and staff members
would often ask each other, “What’s she up to now?” with a shake of their heads.
In March of 2022, she became homesick for El Dorado and bought a small house in town and
continued to stay busy and had many visitors throughout the week. She continued to buy and
plant flowers in the spring and summer.
Donna lost her husband in April of 2021 and while she carried on without Gaylord, she missed
him dearly and stated she was ready to go “home” whenever the Lord was ready for her.
Donna passed away at the age of 94 years on December 27, 2023, in El Dorado Springs, with her
family at her side.
Preceding her in death are her parents, Don and Maude, husband of 72 years: Gaylord, son-in-
law Sam, sister, Dolores, and brothers Billy, Don Jr, and Dennis. Left to mourn her passing are
her children, Lonnie (Lola) of Jerico, Jim (Joyce) of Walker, Sandy of Lamar, and David (Nancy) of
Nevada. 3 Sisters-In-Law, 11 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren, 22 great great
grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, and dear family friends.