Donna J. Fuller

Donna was born August 23, 1930, near Pipestone, Minnesota, to Guy Edgar Fairchild and Bernice Belle (Noble) Fairchild. When she was a very young child, her family moved to a farm near Flandreau, South Dakota, where she has memories of attending a one-room schoolhouse.

When Donna was about six years old, her family moved to Sioux Rapids, Iowa. Donna was a member of 4-H and raised cattle for the county fair with her three brothers – Edgar, Jim and Gordon. She also spent much of her days cooking food for the farm workers, a chore she grew tired of. While a senior in high school, her younger cousin Shirley came to live with them, which made Donna very happy as there was finally another girl in the house. Although her high school graduating class only had 20 students, six of them later ended up in Colorado, where they all enjoyed a reunion every year. Donna knew she wanted to go to college and visited a friend who was studying at Iowa State Teachers College (now University of Northern Iowa) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. After a fun-filled weekend of activities, she decided that’s where she wanted to attend college. It was lucky for our family, as she soon met the love of her life, Max Fuller, and the rest is history! After receiving her degree, she became a kindergarten teacher, including for a class of over 40 little, active students. After Max finished his degree, they moved to Alta, Iowa, where Donna continued to teach Kindergarten for three years until they decided to start a family. Daughter Barbara was born in 1955, and Diane followed soon after in late 1956.

Donna and Max created a wonderful life together. School activities, friends, church, nearby family, recreation. After borrowing her brother’s home-made camper for a trip to Colorado and Wyoming, they ‘caught the bug’ and purchased a larger camper that enabled the family to go on lots of fun adventures to national parks and other beautiful locations. Donna and Max moved to Longmont in 1967. Except for a two-year move to Maryville, Missouri for Max’s position at Northwest Missouri State College, they called Longmont home for the rest of their lives. Donna loved seeing the mountains every day, and always “had” to have a view from her home. After Barbara and Diane got a bit older, Donna became a teacher’s aide at Columbine Elementary School and later, at Hygiene and Longmont Estates Elementary Schools. Donna retired in 1991.

Donna loved family camping, crafts—especially nature-related, sewing, gardening, and playing cards with friends. Her faith was very important to her, and she was a life-long member of the First United Methodist Church, where she sang or played in the various choirs, was a Circle member and participated on a variety of committees. Over the years, she made hundreds of craft items for the annual Holiday Fair. Although making all these crafts was very time-consuming, it gave her great joy to share her creations with others while supporting the church.

Donna’s beloved husband, Max, passed away October 18, 2021. They enjoyed a wonderful 70 years of marriage!

To honor Donna’s memory, spend time in nature, tell people you love that you love them, and let your creative side flourish.