DonnaLee Thomas was born in Medical Lake, WA on October 29, 1930 to Oscar Lindley and Mary Elizabeth (Koon) Thomas. She passed away on December 17, 2020 at the Four Corners Health Care Center in Durango, Colorado.
She married her high school sweetheart Charles C. Wheeler, Jr. (Chuck) on August 25, 1950. On August 1, 1963, DonnaLee, Chuck, and their six children, were sealed as an eternal family in the Idaho Falls Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Chuck passed through the veil on November 14, 2019 after 69 years of marriage.
DonnaLee began looking for the right Church for her when she was 5 years old. After 21 years of searching she and Chuck found The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served in many callings in the Church in 11 States and Bristol, England, where the family lived briefly in the 1960s.
DonnaLee was the mother of Paul, Mary, Mike, Dan, Teresa, and David. From them came 19 grandchildren and 20+ great-grandchildren.
She ran several businesses over the years. She was Director of the San Diego Regional Employment Center of the church, then owner/manager of her own employment agency. She was a highly sought-after events planner for weddings, receptions and birthday parties. DonnaLee was a terrific artist, and an award winning photo-restorationist (long before computers and Photoshop). She wrote four science fiction novels, a genealogy How-To manual, many short stories, poetry, songs, and a cooking column for a syndicate of 11 mid-west newspapers with a readership of 2.5 million.
She planned 25 family moves with up to 6 children. She executed recoveries from a devastating home fire, several floods, and a moving van crash which destroyed 90 of the household furniture and other goods. One result of these experiences is that she was able to counsel several families on how to recover from similar disasters.
She will be sorely missed here on earth, but undoubtedly was warmly welcomed by those whom she loved very much who preceded her through the veil, including Chuck, her four sisters, parents and grandparents.
DonnaLee's care is entrusted to Brewer, Lee and Larkin Funeral Home, 103 E. Ute Street in Farmington, New Mexico (505) 325-8688. You may share condolences with the family on our website: www.serenityandcompany.com.