Donna Rae Wilson, 59, of Joseph, a former Baker County resident, died Aug. 12, 2005.
Her memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the First Baptist Church, 1420 W. North St., in Enterprise. Burial will be at 11:45 a.m. Thursday at the Grangeville, Idaho, Cemetery.
Donna was born on Feb. 23, 1946. She attended schools in Idaho at Clearwater Valley and Grangeville. She married Ray Wilson in 1961 and began her adventurous life on a sheep ranch in Hells Canyon. The couple had two sons and a daughter.
After the Forest Service forced them off of their land in 1973, Donna and Ray became cattle ranchers at Halfway.
In 1980, Donna moved with her family to a new ranch at Baker City. In addition to ranching, Donna also worked at Bohn’s Clothing Store. In 1988, Donna gave up ranching for a short period and moved with her husband to Sisters.
After two years there, she was back ranching with Ray in the Lewiston/Asotin area. In 1993, she moved to a different cattle ranch at Imnaha where she was a county librarian and special education teaching assistant. Her final move with her husband was to Joseph in 2003 to open a saddlery business.
Donna loved landscaping and planting flowers in her yard. She also enjoyed quilting and especially spending time with her grandchildren.
Her strong faith in the Lord enabled her to fight a long and courageous battle with cancer.
Survivors include her husband, Ray; her sons, Chris, a seaman based out of Seattle, Wash., and Greg of Mesa, Ariz.; her daughter, Sherri of Philomath; her mother, Edna Hewson of Grangeville, Idaho; sisters, Darlene, of Grangeville and MaryEllen of Lewiston, Idaho; and five grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her father, Don Fine; and her sister, Sandra.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society through the Bollman Funeral Home, 315 W. Main St., Enterprise, OR 97828.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, August 19, 2005
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor