Born May 9, 1940, to Herbert and Nellie Krueger in Denver, Colorado, Donna was one of those people who radiate a glow and handle life's difficulties with gracious acceptance. If childhood can be held responsible for much of an adult's take on life, in her quiet but not silent way, Donna had a lifelong sense of reality and clear-eyed approach to the world.
And this surely was true when it came to the Alzheimer's that stilled her vast collection of coloring pens seemingly not long after her diagnosis. Almost willing the disease to not let her become a burden to anyone, and after a shockingly – yet mercifully – short three-year struggle, Donna died early December 26, 2019. “But I died in my own home,” she would have happily said, “Just what I wanted,” – and just as her devoted husband, Thomas, had promised.
Donna and Tom had a 61-year love story for the ages. They were a romantic, through-thick-and-thin couple, always hitting the dance floor at weddings and galas, forever holding hands, cheering together at swim meets, scrimping to pay for braces, music lessons, college or whatever else might help to make their kids’ lives better than their own. The high school sweethearts married two days after Donna graduated high school in 1958 so they could head off to 29 Palms, California, where Tom was stationed with the Marines, and where their first two children, Keely and Scott, were born. They later welcomed their youngest, Mark, when they all moved back to Waukegan.
In addition to raising three children, Donna babysat several neighborhood children, cleaned houses and took in ironing. Once her kids were a bit older, she went back to school to become a Licensed Practical Nurse and worked for 26 years at Victory Memorial Hospital and later the Rosalind Franklin University/Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine, where she truly loved teaching and mentoring surgical students. Along the way, she was a Girl Scout leader, taught Sunday school, served in the Beta Sigma Phi service sorority, and became a church elder and clerk of session at First Presbyterian Church in Waukegan.
Grandchildren, Haley, Alison and Matthew, unquestionably brought Donna joy, and she relished taking them out for one-on-one special birthday extravaganzas when they were young. Donna was an enthusiastic holidays’ decorator, Sudoko solver, quilter, embroiderer, scrapbooker, crafter and master bow maker. She was loving and much loved.
Donna is survived by her husband Thomas of Waukegan, IL; daughter Keely (Kim) Boley of Gurnee, IL; sons Scott (Juju) Reeves of Carrollton, TX and Mark (Francisco Chaves) Reeves of Chicago, IL; granddaughters Haley Reeves of Holland, MI and Alison (Josh) Miles of Renton, WA; grandson Matthew (Taylor Bryan) Boley of Minneapolis, MN; sister Toby Hardt of Zion, IL; Tom’s surviving sister Jean (Walter) Heinold of Fitchburg, WI; and many beloved nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents Herbert C. Krueger and Nellie M. Krueger, and a brother Herbert Krueger Jr.
A memorial service will take place 1:00 pm on Monday, December 30, at First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, 700 Sheridan Road. Memorial donations may be made in Donna’s name to the Alzheimer’s Foundation or JourneyCare Hospice, for whom the family is forever grateful for their kind, compassionate care.
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