Donna J. Staley Price
Donna J. Staley Price
Donna J.
Staley Price, 87, Nampa, passed away Friday, Jan. 17, 2014 at a local care
facility of natural causes. She was born
March 14, 1926 in Kimberly, ID to Benjamin Jay and Sarah Cloe Staley. She joined older sisters Cleo, Pearl, and
Dorothy. Her parents were certain they
were having a boy but decided to give her father’s middle initial in her name
anyway! Donna grew up in Kimberly,
graduating from Kimberly High School. She
grew up in a close knit family with the 4 girls and later one brother, Gail,
who joined the family in 1931. Donna was
especially close to her older sister, Dorothy.
The two could often be found snuggled together plotting new adventures
or sharing their dating experiences.
Being children of the Great Depression, money was scarce at times. During their dating years, Donna and Dorothy
shared one really nice “dressy” dress.
When one sister had a big date necessitating the “special” dress, the
other sister stayed home!
At 19, while organizing a youth conference,
Donna was introduced to a tall, handsome army air corpsman home on leave. Though Garth Price was 7 yrs her senior, the
attraction was mutual and immediate, and a long distance romance began when he
returned to his post in Arizona. It
wasn’t long until Donna packed her bags, boarded a bus, and headed to
Arizona. She and Garth were married for
time and all eternity in the Mesa, AZ LDS temple on March 1, 1945 and settled
into a little apartment on the base.
When Garth was discharged from the Army, they returned to Kimberly,
where Garth built their first home. It
was there that their daughter Carolyn was born in 1946. Another daughter, Michelle, joined the family
in 1956, and Jackie in 1958. Sadly, Jackie only lived a few days.
The
family moved to Twin Falls as Garth extended his carpentry skills and started
his own construction company; Donna
worked at JC Penney for many years. When
the kids had moved out on their own, Donna and Garth moved to Ogden, UT and
managed a motel there for a short while. They then moved to Sedona, AZ and
managed the Rainbow Park resort for many years.
In 1992 they bought a nice 5
th
wheel and spent the summers in
Tok, AK and winters in Ajo, AZ. Garth
would do misc. repairs around the RV parks and Donna would handle the
reservations and housekeeping. Health concerns necessitated their return to
Twin Falls and eventually to Boise to be nearer to their daughter and
granddaughter. Garth passed away on 7/28/2010.
Donna
was known for her beautiful red hair and infectious laugh. She always made sure she was up and dressed
every day, hair done, and make up artfully applied, something she continued to
the very end. She was the queen of
thrift store shopping but you would never know it. She was always stylishly dressed. She had a unique way of making everyone feel
at ease around her-she always had a compliment for anyone she had a
conversation with. She also loved music
and had an amazing singing voice, sharing her talents as ward choir director
for many years. She had a uncanny
ability to remember the words to numerous songs, and if she heard singing, she
would always join in, no matter where she was.
She was the life of any family function and everyone loved having her in
the same room. Her positive, uplifting
disposition got her through numerous health conditions and heartaches. Her favorite saying was “take it one day at a
time and make the most of that day.”
Donna is
survived by her daughter Michelle and husband Mark Easson, Phoenix, AZ,
granddaughter Nicole Shaffer-Pope, & great-grandsons Cole & Simon Pope,
all of Nampa, ID. She was preceded in
death by her parents, & daughters, Carolyn & Jackie.
Services
will be held at 11:00am, Monday, Jan. 27, 2014 at the Alden-Waggoner Funeral
Home, 5400 Fairview Ave, Boise, ID. A
committal service will be at 1:00pm the same day at the Idaho Veteran’s Cemetery, 10101 N.
Horseshoe Bend Rd., Boise, ID.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Donna J. Staley Price, please visit our flower store.
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