Lina DelleDonne Davies

Lina (Lee) DelleDonne Davies, 90, passed from this life on Friday, April 16, 2021. She was born on November 15, 1930 in Verona, Pennsylvania, the middle daughter of Vittorio and Chiarina DelleDonne who left Italy for the United States to find a better life for their family. She endured the Great Depression and the Great St. Patrick’s Day flood of 1936 that inundated the region around Pittsburgh in which her family lost everything. These childhood experiences prepared her for challenging times in Houston. During Hurricane Ike, she spent two weeks without power and had to cook food on a backyard grill. During Harvey, she moved keepsakes to the second floor as flood waters rose in her neighborhood, and at the age of 90, with no power or water and icy roads, she built a fire to stay warm until help could arrive during the February 2021 ice storm.

After graduating from Verona High School, Lee was a member of the first class at Penn State University’s Behrend Center and graduated from Penn State with a degree in Education. After college, she taught Health and Physical Education at Ebensburg-Cambria High School, Millvale High School and finished her career at Oliver High School, all in the Greater Pittsburgh area.

Lee is proceeded in death by her husband, Barry Davies, and they were happily married for 52 years before his death in 2015. She is also proceeded in death by her parents as well as her older brother, Orlando, and her younger sister, Rachel. She is survived by her daughter, Adrienne Schwenke and husband Mark Schwenke, her son, Owen Davies and wife Carol Davies and her son, Stuart Davies and his wife Dana Davies. She was also a proud grandmother of seven grandchildren, Jessica and Amanda Schwenke, Aeron and Briana Davies, and Bronwyn, Haydn and Gavyn Davies.

Lee moved with her family to Houston in 1973 and was active in the PTA and Mother’s Clubs at her children’s schools. She was also a woman of deep faith and attended weekly mass at St. Cyril of Alexandria Church where she was active in both bible study and the Ladies’ Guild for which she served as both its President and its Treasurer. Lee was also President of the Lakeside Women’s Club in 1999 and 2000. She loved tracing her ancestry and was an active member of the Houston Genealogical Forum.

Lee enjoyed games, especially cards, which she loved playing with her grandchildren. She also loved to travel. In her early 20’s, she drove to the Florida Keys with her sister where she waitressed for the summer. She organized annual road trips for her family that included visits to Washington, D.C, Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon. In her 80’s, she rejoined with her sister to take cruises to visit Venice, Rome, Barcelona, Stockholm, Helsinki and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Lee was a loving wife, the best mother a child could ask for, and a doting grandmother who always had homemade stuffed shells, Italian sausage, and fresh-baked pizzelles waiting for her visiting grandchildren. She was a caring friend who would happily prepare and deliver a meal or visit a friend in need.

Funeral Services celebrating Lee's life will be held on Thursday, April 29, 2021 at 11:00 AM at St. Cyril of Alexandria Church at 10503 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX with Father Jeff Johnson, S.J. officiating. The mass will also be available on Facebook Live with the link available on the church’s website.

Visitation will be from 5:00-7:00 PM with a rosary to follow on Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at Memorial Oaks Funeral Home and Cemetery at 13001 Katy Freeway, Houston, TX.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made in her name to St. Cyril of Alexandria Church, Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, St. Agnes Academy, or the Houston Genealogical Forum.