Donna A. Botelho's Obituary
On November 2, 2025, Donna's body did what her spirit and her will would never do when it finally gave out and she left the physical world for one of peace.
Born on January 10, 1935, in Pasco, Washington, to Shirley Ray and Alta (Odgers) Miller, Donna was the youngest of nine children and spent her early years growing up in Connell, Washington, until the family relocated to Coquille, Oregon.
Upon graduating from high school, Donna enlisted in the Women's Army Corps (WAC), taking basic training at Fort Lee, Virginia; attending clerk typist school at Fort Knox, Kentucky; and was stationed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, where she met her husband, John Sears https://Botelho.They were married on May 15, 1954, in Metuchen, New Jersey. Donna served in the WAC for two years until she was honorably discharged in 1954.
After her military service, Donna became a homemaker and continued raising her three children while her husband served in the United States Air Force until retiring in 1969. Following the untimely death of her husband in 1971, she went back to school, training as a bookkeeper, and later worked for C&G Electronics until her children left the home. At that time, she settled into a life that was centered around travel, volunteering for numerous military groups, and helping to raise her grandchildren.
She was a lifetime member of the Gold Star Wives of America, a member of the Women's Army Corps Veterans Association, the American Legion, Amvets, the Ladies Auxiliary of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, and the Honor Society of Women Legionnaires where she was the treasurer for many years.
Donna was steadfastly devoted to her children and grandchildren, remaining a continuous presence in their lives until her passing. She invested much of her time in genealogical research and at various points in her life enjoyed crocheting, bowling, crossword puzzles, country music, and watching her favorite television programs.
Donna is preceded in death by her husband, John; daughter, Jo Ann; daughter-in-law, Andrea; brothers Richard A. Miller and Shirley Ray Miller, Jr. (Coquille, OR), and Louis Miller (Pasco, WA); sisters Leona Bumgardner (Pasco, WA), Elaine Braaten (Puyallup, WA), Phyllis Steinert (Selah, WA), and Ruby Shipp (Springfield, OR).
She is survived by her sons; John, James, and Jesse, grandsons; John, Steven, Trenton, and Grayson, granddaughter; Jordan, sister; Dorothy and numerous nieces and nephews.
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