Donna Jean Landowski was born in Devil's Lake, North Dakota on January 24th, 1927. She passed away quietly on May 25th, 2017 in Wilsonville, OR. Her parents were Joseph and Gertie Landowski, she followed sister Dorothy and brother Kenny. The family moved to the Portland area in the early years of the United States' involvement in World War II, as Joe worked at the Kaiser Shipyards. Donna graduated from Portland's Jefferson High School and worked at Western Wax. She met her future husband Jim at a Lutheran church youth group and they were married in June of 1947, and they made their home in Vanport. When Vanport flooded in May of 1948 they lost almost all of their possessions, and found a new home for themselves in SE Portland. Their son Duane was born in October of 1948, daughter Diane in October of 1951, followed by two more sons, Jerry in May of 1953, and Brian in December of 1954. In 1958 the family moved to a house in the Hollywood District of Portland which was home to Donna for over 50 years.
Donna was blessed with a beautiful singing voice, as evidenced by her being an original member of the Portland Symphonic Choir, in which she sang for two seasons – 1945 and 1946. She also sang in the choir for many years at her long-time church Bethlehem Lutheran. She enjoyed going to as many of her children's activities as possible as they grew, particularly the boys' baseball games. If she was not able to attend a game she was sure to have a warm meal waiting for whomever missed the dinner table. She was a big fan of the Portland Trail Blazers and because of her bad eyesight / blindness particularly liked to listen to the games on the radio. She never WENT to a single game, but she sure liked listening to Bill Schonely's voice on the radio. Donna was also an accomplished seamstress / sewer, making many quilts, afghans, blankets, placemats, coasters, and of course the kitchen pot and pan "scrubbies" she became famous for in the family, giving them out as Christmas stocking stuffers. She made many beautiful quilts and blankets with other women at Bethlehem which were donated to needy recipients all over the world. All of this work was done as her eyesight was getting worse, as later in life she became totally blind.
Donna was preceded in death by her loving husband of 49 years, Jim. She is survived by her four children, Duane (Karla), Diane (Tom), Jerry (Debbie), and Brian (Cathy); 10 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; her sister Dorothy; and many nieces and nephews.
The family requests that donations be made in memory of Donna to Lutheran Community Services, 605 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd, Portland, OR 97214 or LCSNW.ORG