Donna Beall

Donna Mae Beall, 75, passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 12, 2020. Donna gave “no quarter” to her seven-year battle with Alzheimer’s and left this world gracefully on her own terms. Thank you to the staff and caregivers at The Auberge at Aspen Park (formerly The Silverado) for keeping Donna smiling and comfortable as she spent her last years in dignity…and with plenty of desserts.

Donna and two sisters, Carolyn (Kohls) and Betty (Maier) were raised in Rupert, ID by their parents, John Henry & Elvira Dockter. Shortly after graduating high school, Donna attended Holy Cross Nursing School and graduated first in her class.

In 1966, she moved to San Francisco for an “adventure” with Kate and two other nurses. She worked at St. Mary’s near Golden Gate Park in the operating room and lived between Polk and Van Ness streets.

In April of 1967, Donna met Marshall D. Beall, a Captain in the U.S. Army (at the time, later a Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army Ret.) who had just completed his first tour of duty in Vietnam. On November 11, 1967 at the age of 23, Donna got married and became an Army wife in every capacity. Wherever she could, she worked as a nurse while Marshall was stationed throughout the country. After being stationed in Fort Benning, GA and later moving to Augusta, GA, Donna worked in the ER at St. Joseph’s Hospital and shared a backyard with the Augusta National Golf Club. In January of 1972, Donna moved back to Salt Lake City while Marshall left for his second tour in Vietnam. She lived across from Westminster College and worked at the VA hospital.

The couple was stationed in Fort McClellan, AL when Donna was 6 months pregnant with a baby girl, Amy (Hawkins), born in September 1975. Later, they moved to Fort Leavenworth, KS while Marshall attended commander general staff college. The family moved to Springfield, VA while Marshall worked at the Pentagon and Donna worked at Amy’s pre-school, Grasshopper Green, while pregnant with a second daughter, Allison (Allen), born in July 1979 in Washington, D.C.

Along with her husband and children, she traveled extensively throughout the world, from Thailand to Spain and Hong Kong to Italy. She waltzed in Vienna, skied in the Black Forest, sunbathed on the Italian Riviera, wandered the scene at Oktoberfest in Munich and rolled the dice in Monte Carlo. In 1981, the family moved to Mannheim, Germany for three years and continued their travels throughout the continent. While stationed in Manheim, Donna would translate spoken German to Marshall, but was too shy to respond herself.

Donna was a Registered Nurse for 42 years and received much recognition and many awards throughout her career, including a 1997 Intermountain Health Care Nurse Excellence Award and nomination for Utah’s nurse of the year. She spent 22 years at Alta View Hospital in Sandy, UT, before retiring in June 2007. Her compassion for others was limitless. The “nurse’s spirit” resided in her, until the very end.

Donna was a working mom who did it all, with no complaints. She made the best chocolate chip cookies and had dinner on the table every night at 7 p.m. She washed the car before road trips and made sure there were plenty of snacks for the ride. She would tickle your back for hours at a time. She was a sweet grandmother (and “best friend”) to four grandsons, Greyson, Henry, Julian and August. She was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Sandy, UT and attended services every Sunday until her passing.

Friends and family are invited to join a graveside celebration on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. at Wasatch Lawns, Salt Lake City, UT. We are planning a celebration of Donna’s life at a later date, when the world is more hospitable for such a tribute. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Army Emergency Relief Fund – armyemergencyrelief.org.

In closing, Donna’s daughters would like to thank their dad, who, through unmatched tender devotion, and signature good humor, cared for their mom each and every day as she lived with the disease that robbed her of her memory.