Donna Mae (Zwiefelhofer) Hanson, 90, of Bloomer, died peacefully Wednesday, February 26, 2025 at Meadowbrook at Bloomer under the care of Moments Hospice.

Donna Mae was born May 29, 1934 in Bloomer, the daughter of Norman and Marceline (Bleskachek) Zwiefelhofer.

On December 16, 1953, Donna married Roy F. Hanson in Bloomer.

First and foremost, Donna dearly loved family, she would move heaven and earth to protect and support those she loved in whatever way she could regardless of the commitment or burden it placed on her.

She also maintained an incredible faith in the Lord throughout her entire life and was never afraid to let whoever was listening know it – if a sentence didn’t start with “The Good Lord…” you could be certain that’s the way it would end. She was a lifelong Catholic and a member of St. Charles Parish in Chippewa Falls.

Donna had an incredible fondness of God’s creatures from her very youngest years to her passing. Stories spanned the years, from the time her pet raccoon ate her grandmother’s pie as a child, to her encounter with a black panther that she swore had bounded across the hood of her car on a Bloomer country road. Even to her last days of driving, Donna could be seen at Irvine Park with her loaf of bread feeding her adopted ducks, geese, and squirrels that she had virtually tamed to eat from her hand. She had a near magic touch with them and earned every bit of her Donna Doolittle nickname.

She was truly one of a kind and will be dearly missed by all she touched over the 90 plus years we had her with us.

Donna is survived by her four children, one son, Roy A. (Patty) Hanson of Green Bay, WI; three daughters, Debra (James) Hedrington and Ronda Lynch both of Chippewa Falls, Sandra A. (Alfonso R.) Montes of Liberal, KS, 11 grandchildren, Rebecca De La Rosa, Kristina (Roths) Kunsman, Arik Arnevik, Alyssa (Arnevik) Hopfensperger, Alfonso J. Montes, Adam Lynch, Alex Hanson, Brandon Hanson, Dylan Hanson, Ryan Hanson and Katie Hanson; and 5 great grandchildren.

Donna was preceded in death by her parents.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 8 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Cooks Valley. Rev. Victor Feltes will be celebrant of the funeral Mass with interment in the church cemetery.

Visitation will be held from 1 p.m. until the time of services at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 8 at the church.

The family wishes to extend their heartfelt thanks to the staff members of Chippewa Falls Comforts of Home, Mayo Hospital of Eau Claire, Meadowbrook Bloomer Assisted Living and Moments Hospice of Eau Claire for their compassion and care throughout these last few months.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, friends may make a memorial donation to their local ASPCA or Humane Society. 

AFTER SERVICE NOTICE:

Funeral services for Donna Mae Hanson were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 8 at St. John the Baptist Church in the town of Cooks Valley.

Rev. Victor Feltes was celebrant of the funeral Mass assisted by Donnie Stoik. Interment was in the church cemetery.

Music during the Mass was provided by Jim Willi.

Casket bearers were Aric Arnevik, Brandon Hanson, Dylan Hanson and Ryan Hanson, Kenneth Kunsman, Adam Lynch, and A.J.  Montes.