Donna Virginia Kincaid McMahan

Our beloved -- and oftentimes bewildering -- matriarch did not mince words or suffer fools gladly. Yet, she also had a compassionate heart that was moved, and often angered, by the unfairness and injustices of the world. She gained friends, and perhaps the occasional enemy, with her sharp wit and wry sense of humor.

She was born with a naturally deep voice. In her youth, she was lovingly known as “Little Moe” named after a gruff speaking man who hung around her father's gas station. Indeed, throughout her life she was misgendered over the phone and was endlessly amused by the absurdity of being referred to as "Sir" on a regular basis.

She was quietly creative and, when inspired, would write the occasional poem or strongly worded "letter-to-the-editor." In 2012, she self-published a novel of which she was tremendously proud. She was a passionate collector with a respectable, varied catalog and an uncanny ability to remember the location of even the most obscure of trinkets in the smallest of drawers.

But most of all, she was a woman who loved her family unrelentingly. She savored the moments she shared with them and never stopped grieving those she lost over the decades, especially her maternal grandparents, a cherished aunt and uncle, her father and mother, and a stillborn son. And now with her passing, she leaves us all -- with our broken hearts and tear-soaked faces -- to grieve her in that same way. There is no doubt Donna McMahan will never be forgotten by those of us who knew and loved her.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to St.Jude Children's Research Hospital where she participated in their Partner of Hope program.