Though she may have been small in stature, Donna Anderson’s love and kindness, grace and dignity were immeasurable. It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of our beloved mother and grandmother, sister-in-law, aunt and friend, Donna Joleen Anderson on November 11 in Salina, Kansas.

Donna was a surprise to her parents, Earl and Pearl White, when she joined their family of five children, Bob, Ray, Almeda, Aline, and Tommy on August 11, 1937.  Donna grew up in Abilene, Kansas and graduated in 1955.  She was determined to be a nurse and after working at Memorial Hospital during high school, she went on to Bethany School of Nursing in Kansas City, Kansas. Before she graduated, her father succumbed to cancer in 1958.  When Donna finished nursing school, she came home to Abilene to help out her mother; but while working in a doctor’s office in Enterprise, she met Myron “Andy” Anderson.

After a brief courtship, Donna and Myron married on March 1, 1959.  Their family grew with their five children, Terry, Scott (Mary Anne), Tamra (Dan Hocker), Jon (Holly), and Darla (Mike Hoover). The Andersons moved from town to town in Kansas, and later brief stints in Nebraska and Illinois, finally settling in Topeka for 20 years. Because Donna was an R.N., she never had trouble finding work, and did every type of nursing job from obstetrics in Abilene to nursing homes in Salina, and Home Health Care in Topeka.

The most important job that Donna had, though, was being a wife, mother and grandmother. Her husband was devoted to her and she to him for 52 years. She loved her children and taught them Christian values by modeling them herself. Later, she would travel across the country, from Hutchinson to Arkansas to Texas to California, to help her children with their own children. Her husband, children, and grandchildren would never be able to find a superlative word to describe how much she meant to them. They loved her as much as she loved them.

Myron died in 2011, and Donna moved into McCall Manor (now Reflections Resort) in Salina, Kansas. Donna shared friendships with many of the residents and staff. There, as in every other of her endeavors, she left a lasting impression.

Small in stature, but big in heart. That was Donna Anderson.

In addition to Myron, she was preceded in death by her parents, her siblings, three nephews, her grandson, Ryan, and daughter-in-law, Debbie.

Donna’s survivors include her five children, 13 of her grandchildren, their spouses, and their children, two sisters-in-law (Edwina Anderson and Carolyn Hossfeld), and several nieces and nephews including Ruth Fritton and Patricia Warner.

Sometime in April, Donna’s children will hold a graveside service at the Lutheran Cemetery in Enterprise, Kansas. Memorials can be made to Brookwood Covenant Church in Topeka, Kansas in care of Carlson-Geisendorf Funeral Home.