Donna Irene Flynn
April 4, 1926 - December 9, 2023
Obituary
April 4, 1926 – December 9, 2023
Donna Irene Flynn was born Donna Davis to Ira and Doris Davis. She was a proud native Seattleite and remembers traveling around the city by trolley cars in her early years. She graduated from Queen Anne High School in 1943 and went to work in the Seattle office of Warner Bros. Studios. In 1949, she married William (Bill) Flynn and became part of a loving Irish family. She was particularly fond of Bill’s mother who was an immense help to her for many years. For her entire life, Donna spoke lovingly of “Ma” who had embraced her as a daughter. Donna and Bill became the proud parents of Gregory and Jody and established their home in West Seattle.
Donna and Bill were an outgoing, social couple with many friends that they were close to their entire lives. They especially enjoyed dancing in the 1940’s to the music of the big bands. Donna considered this one of the happiest times of her life. Unfortunately, Donna became a young widow when Bill passed away of cancer in 1984. She then moved from West Seattle to Huntington Park in Des Moines and lived there for the next 30 years. She was very active in the Club House activities and could always be counted on to volunteer for any job necessary to make things run smoothly. She was a tireless worker and every aspect of her life was in order—from the Club House events to her immaculate home and eventually planning her own funeral. Her son’s original baseball cards including one of Mickey Mantle were thrown out since Greg had grown up and moved on. During these years, Donna had a loving companion, Murray, with whom she traveled and cruised to many destinations. Travel also included several trips to Disneyland and DisneyWorld with grandchildren, Colin, Cassie and Alena. She was a real trooper enduring multiple treks across the park until she protested she was not walking across this park “one more time’. In addition, there was a standing Thursday lunch date with a group of ladies that had known each other since their high school days. This group continued to meet into their 90’s.
All her life, Donna was a warm, caring person, helping people and organizations. She remembered her father taking her to see “Hooverville” on the Seattle waterfront when she was a small child during the depression. This must have made a profound impression on her since she was always concerned about those “unseen” people who worked so hard for a living. She always made sure she spoke to people that helped her such as housekeepers and waitpeople especially when she traveled. She also made a point to speak to everyone at social occasions to make sure everyone felt included. She was known for her beautiful smile and used it often.
Independence and self-sufficiency were extremely important to Donna. She emphasized repeatedly that she could take care of herself and needed no help. She dragged in her neighbors’ garbage cans so they didn’t have to because they were elderly. She changed her own lightbulbs because she didn’t want her son climbing on a ladder. She swept her driveway daily to keep the pine needles away. She swam daily in the community pool every day weather allowed. And, of course, being able to drive herself anywhere was sacred to her.
Unfortunately, time kept moving and at 89 Donna was involved in a serious car accident (yes, she was still driving) and after that her beloved independence started to diminish. She very reluctantly made the decision to move from her home to assisted living. She chose Merrill Gardens in Burien since it was not yet built and gave her the most amount of time to delay. She moved in 2017 to a brand new apartment and hated every minute of it. In spite of herself, she made many new friends and fit right into her new life of community dining, activities and exercise.
Gradually dementia reared its ugly head and Donna moved from assisted living to the memory care center at Merrill Gardens and lived there for five years slipping slowly away from us. Even in those circumstances, she continued to keep a very neat and orderly apartment, tried to help others, and always had that warm and friendly smile. She also made a few random escape attempts and nearly managed to gain her independence again. She was a tricky one!
On December 9, 2023, Donna died peacefully at 97 in her sleep at Merrill Gardens. She is already greatly missed by all her family. She is survived by her son Greg (Nancy) and daughter Jody Wentworth (Mark). Her grandchildren include Colin (Colleen) Flynn, Cassie Flynn (Eric) and Alena Martin (Phil). She waited eagerly for great-grandchildren that she was not able to know. They are Keira and Declan Flynn and Nova Martin. We love you, Grandma and Gigi.
My childhood has so many happy memories of my family and I living across the street from the Flynn’s .
Donna was such a loving person to me and I felt so special whenever I went over to their place to play with my best friend Jody .
I miss her , but will always remember what a wonderful woman she was
RIP
❤️Susie