Donna Jones Nelson, cherished wife, mother, sister, friend and volunteer extraordinaire, passed away at 90 years of age on Easter Monday, April 6, 2026.
Donna was born on June 30, 1935, in Oak Park, Illinois, the eldest of five children, to Malcolm Lewis Jones and Lydia Jones Jones. She grew up in nearby Aurora and attended West Aurora High School. She worked for a summer on a dude ranch in Wyoming, and when time came to go to college, she headed further west to Stanford University. There she majored in Economics, which she liked because it was organized and the math behind it always had an answer.
Donna made many lifelong friends at Stanford, the most important being her husband, Leon Castle Nelson. On their first date, he took her on his bike’s handlebars to get coffee, hoping to make her feel better after she broke her toe square dancing. They were married on June 23, 1956, just before Leon started dental school, thus beginning a devoted 66-year marriage that was anchored in the love of family.
Donna, Leon and their first three children (Mike, Marcie and Karina) moved to Redding in 1960, when Leon started his dental practice. Their fourth child, Kathy, soon followed and Donna invested her time and energy in family life. She was active with the Redding Co-Op Preschool. She was on four PTA’s at the same time (Manzanita, Sequoia, Nova and Shasta) and served on the Shasta County School Board. She was a constant presence at her daughters’ swim meets, timing the races and cheering. When several of her children got involved in the Shasta High School musicals, she started a 55-year relationship with that program, helping with auditions, ticket sales and production managing. Her decades-long support of the music program was recognized when she was given the title “Duchess” at a SHS Madrigal Dinner. When her last child graduated from Shasta High in 1980, she and Leon were honored as the school’s “Parents of the Decade”. Wherever family was, Donna was sure to be there.
Donna had numerous informal job titles, including “Nova Girl” as she helped Leon’s business selling Nova Dental-Award Badges. However, she truly enjoyed her years as a travel agent with Custom Travel, where she went on “fam-trips” to experience the travel destinations she shared with others. A highlight was when she organized an Alaskan cruise with her children and their families. Life was always better when family was together.
For a Midwestern girl, Donna took to the outdoor life of northern California. One summer, the family went camping every weekend. Burney Falls was a favorite destination. In the winter, they skied at Mt. Shasta, Tahoe or in Oregon. Family reunions at Patrick’s Point (now Sue-Meg) State Park brought family and friends together from all across the US. She and Leon, often with sister Linda, went salmon fishing in Alaska and had some interesting encounters with grizzlies. She had an exciting helicopter rescue from the Grand Canyon when she broke her wrist on the first day of backpacking down to the Colorado.
Donna was all about staying connected to those she loved. She set up weekly Zoom calls with her siblings. She stayed in touch with her high school and Stanford friends. For many years, she and Leon had season passes to the Stanford football home games where their love of college football and of rousing social events blended perfectly.
Donna was an avid exercise buff before it was in fashion. Since the 1960s, she and her Almond Avenue-area girlfriends jogged, then later walked, every morning at 6. Fridays were celebrated with a stop along the way at the Donut Wheel. She started spinning workouts in the 1970s and continued spinning several times a week until a month before she passed. When asked what the secret to a good life was, Donna said it was to keep moving and stay interested in people. She did both in spades.
Donna’s social calendar was filled with community organizations, particularly the League of Women Voters and PEO. She was a member of several bridge groups, keeping up a tradition started by her mother. Donna and Leon loved hosting parties at their boat house at Shasta Lake’s Turntable Bay and at “The Camp” off Gilman Road, where they would hire a band and dance the night away. For one memorable party in the 1960s, Donna let her kids decorate her legs as if she were a “Laugh-In” girl.
Donna grew up in the Congregational church, so it was only natural that she was a founding member of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Pilgrim Congregational Church in Redding. She recalled walking across Eureka Way with her family from the Seventh-Day Adventist Church to the newly built Pilgrim Church. She was active with the church youth group and she sang in the choir until she was 89. Her faith gave her peace and hope, always looking to the promise of the future and never looking backwards with regret. Donna always had something to look forward to. Even in her last weeks, she filled her social calendar to the brim because she always made time for the people and events she cared deeply about.
In the past three years, Donna made new, dear friends at Hilltop Springs, where she loved her courtyard apartment, happy hour socials and breaking bread with the ever-expanding breakfast club.
Donna was predeceased by her beloved husband of 66 years, Leon, as well as her parents, sister Sally and brother Malcolm Jr. She is survived by her and Leon’s four children, Michael (Rhonda), Marcia Gall (Ken), Karina Lapp (Ron), and Katherine Crawford (Kerrins “K”); 7 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren; sisters Susan and Linda; and many dear nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life will be held on June 20, 2026 at 11:00 at Pilgrim Congregational Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to Pilgrim Congregational Church’s building fund for replacing the HVAC system (PO Box 993183, Redding CA 96099).
Obituary provided by the Nelson family.
