57° and Sunny
Washington - Donna Dorothea Saunders (née Dodds), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on
November 4, 1935, passed on December 23, 2025. Beloved mother,
grandmother, great-grandmother, and "second mom" to generations of
friends, Donna was an incredibly giving person of a gentle, abiding
faith. She sought the good in everyone (well, almost everyone) while
trying to make the world a more peaceful place, a value she instilled in
her family.
The only child of Peter John Dodds and Cora Martha Hotham, Donna grew up in Toronto. She reveled in her
summers on the Canadian prairie with her cousins, aunts, and uncles. She
graduated as an RN from Royal Victoria Hospital in 1957, marrying Dr.
David R. Saunders. After years in England and Montreal, they moved to
Seattle. They had four sons (John, Richard, Michael, and Brian), and a
motley menagerie of animals: Dogs, ducks, geese, rabbits, chickens,
chameleons, a frog, a catfish, and a goat. She often told of watching
her young boys marching into the woods to play, followed by a procession
of two dogs, two geese, and a chicken. They all wanted in on the fun.
Their home in Lake Forest Park was a sylvan paradise in which to grow
up.
Donna loved cooking and baking, which she inherited
from her mother (celebrated for her pies) and aunts. She loved big
family gatherings, and later, her own household would be filled with neighborhood children who were always welcome at supper. It gave her
tremendous joy to include others.
Donna returned to nursing, eventually becoming the RN at the Seattle Infant Development
Center, playing a critical role in the formative years of children of
Seattle's prominent people. She found the position immensely rewarding.
The SIDC staff and clientele were heartbroken when she retired.
Donna cherished music, reading, wine, travel, and gardening. The family
visited England, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland (where
the boys learned to ski), and Italy. In England, she and David
encountered Monty Python's Flying Circus, which would cast a long shadow
over the family's sense of humor. Over time, her interest in gardening
grew, and her garden became lush, expressive, and tranquil. She also
enjoyed the writing and Italian language classes she took through the
Women's University Club.
But Donna's greatest love was always her family: Her husband, sons, and daughters-in-law (Polly, Kammie, and Ellyn), her grandchildren (Meghan, Jane, Kyle, Evan, Alex, Nick, Bella, Emma, and Jack), and her great-grandchildren (Ace, Ivy, and Jude). May we who loved to live in her light seek to preserve that
light in ourselves.
