Donna was the first born to John Emmett and Dawn Adelle Clark. She was born on June 26, 1949 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her mother creatively named her Donna Dell so their names would sound the same even though they were different. At an early age, Donna helped her parents build their own home from the ground up in Wisconsin. Our grandparents would proudly tell stories of how Little Donna, as a young child, would walk around the construction site at the end of the day picking up the stray nails that were left behind in order to help do her part. In 1953, her baby brother, Timothy John, was born making their family complete.
When she was 10 years old, the Clark family decided to relocate to California to join Grandpa John's extended family. Our Grandpa had previously taken a trip to CA to find a job and buy a house before he sent for my Grandma, Mom, and Uncle Tim to fly out. From the age of 10 on, Donna grew up in Garden Grove and eventually graduated from GG High School in 1967. Shortly after high school, she got married and started her family. As a new wife and mom, she worked hard to finish her education at CSULB and achieve her dream job as a teacher in the GGUSD, where she worked for over 45 years.
In just a little over six years of marriage, Donna had her dream family- 2 boys and 2 girls… she actually really wanted 6 children, but they stopped at 4. Thank God! Donna was the perfect Mom… she was selfless, caring, giving, loving, and she would do anything for her family.
Mom didn’t have the easiest life. Divorce left her a single Mom to raise 4 kids on her own. She took on a second job as a waitress at the Conestoga Hotel and even held a 3rd job at times tutoring children who were too ill to attend school. She wanted to be able to give us everything we needed and wanted, and she succeeded at that. She ended up establishing great friendships at the Conestoga with both employees and guests. She loved to take care of people; feed everyone her signature meals like chicken enchiladas, lasagna, and chicken tetrazzini; host friends and relatives; and make everyone feel special. Mom definitely showed us what it looks like to work hard and to persevere even when things got tough. She was a very strong lady.
Mom retired after 40 years of full-time teaching and touching the lives of over 1,200 children, and then she continued substitute teaching for several years after “retiring." She had many students that came back to visit her often with many telling her that she had inspired them to go to college and that she was their favorite teacher in all their years of schooling. We couldn’t go to a grocery store without someone yelling out, “Mrs. Lee… is that you?” And she always remembered their names! She ended up having several of her former students’ children and even a few grandchildren in her classes. Families specifically asked for her after someone they knew had been in her class because she was well-liked, but she also was strict with her students. Teaching was the perfect job for her. She spent her life teaching students, teaching her children right from wrong, and eventually teaching her grandchildren life lessons. I’m sure she is in heaven now looking down on us, telling our grandparents how hardheaded some of us are and that we should have listened better to her advice.
Mom was sought after as a substitute teacher in several schools throughout the district, and she worked 5 days a week. She most often subbed at Sunnyside so she could see her friends and former colleagues and catch up with them. She had a lot of great friendships from working at Sunnyside and she treasured the time she got to spend with those who still worked there and those who had retired. She was often asked why she retired if she was going to continue working full time. She loved to stay busy and interact with different people she knew well or recently met. Everyone she knew respected her and admired her for her ethics and the joy she found in helping others.