Donna Jean Bellisario

Born Donna Jean Wilson on May 22, 1954, in Highland Park, Michigan, to parents Donald Lee and Marilyn Jean (Stites) Wilson, she was raised in Detroit until age 12, when her family moved to Sterling Heights. She attended Stevenson High, where she entered and won a beauty contest, forever after earning the nickname, “Donna Jean the Beauty Queen.” She is a graduate of the class of 1972.

In 1977, she left Michigan for San Diego, California, where she had lived ever since.

In 1983, she graduated from National University with a Bachelor of Business with emphasis in accounting, a degree she put to successful use in client-facing sales roles in primarily commercial industrial companies, such as Johnson & Johnson and C&D Technology.

After nearly four decades of living child-free, in her late 30s she overnight became mother to nieces Julia and Kelly, and nephew Raymond. The three children may not have been hers by birth, but by virtue of how she devoted her life to loving and mothering them, they are Donna’s children, as far as Julia, Kelly and Raymond are concerned.

She successfully fought to gain legal custody over them and spent the next several years mothering them as no one else had, taking them to softball tournaments and cheerleading practice, supervising homework, and attending parent/teacher conferences. When she wasn’t scolding Raymond for using the curbs of the neighborhood sidewalks as ramps for his skateboard jumps, the two were often found side by side gardening together. She helped move Kelly into her college dorm and ensured she got settled. She hosted Christmas Eve every year for Julia’s family, creating a new and much cherished annual tradition.

She was a devoted grandmother to Julia’s two children, Alexis Jean, and Ashtin Duke, and loved spending time with them. She was very much looking forward to the arrival of her newest grandchild, Kelly’s baby girl due early June 2024.

With her passing, Julia, Kelly, and Raymond grieve the loss of their mother, if not by birth then most certainly earned by the role she played in their lives and the love they shared.

She is also survived by nieces Melissa Fields (Brad); and Whitney Czarnik (Mike), both of whom she very much loved.

From her family of origin, she is survived by her brothers David and Doug Wilson; and her sisters Diane Ollis (Dave), and Dawn Dickinson.

In addition to extended family, she leaves behind a large group of heart-broken friends who adored her. Outgoing and open hearted, Donna made friends in an instant and kept them for a lifetime. For her friends, she would do anything, whether that was flying to Paris to create the décor for a friend’s daughter’s wedding reception, or reorganizing the pantry shelves in a friend’s Sequim, Washington, home, or keeping a friend in the midst of a home remodel supplied nonstop with design ideas, or introducing one of her best friends to the mate that resulted in a marriage of many decades. All these things, plus countless cakes baked, rides given, errands run, favors granted, help supplied, and innumerable acts of love and devotion have made the passing of Donna Jean Bellisario a profound loss to those left behind.

She was a passionate advocate of animal rescue, and owned several rescued dogs over the years. When she passed, she left behind two, Kramer and Betsy June, with whom she shared a mutual love, devotion, and -- Donna was convinced – gratitude, that seemed to her a quality uniquely found with rescued dogs. She would be content to know that they will now live out the rest of their days in the home of Donna’s daughter, Julia, and her family.

She was involved in several nonprofit organizations in San Diego. Among them:

• Sharp Memorial Hospice, where she served as a hospice volunteer, an experience she found deeply rewarding.

• She was an advocate for animal rescue organizations.

She was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Encinitas.

Those interested in honoring Donna’s life are encouraged to make donations in her name to the charities below:

https://frostedfacesfoundation.org/frostedfunding

https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html?cID=14262&pID=24671&dedication=1&sc_icid=wtg-mm-memorialcards

A private memorial service will be held later this year.