- Date Of Birth: January 28, 1929
- Date Of Death: October 25, 2016
- State: Idaho
Donna Mae Moore, 87, passed away peacefully at home from complications of COPD on October 25, 2016. Mom was born in St. Louis, Missouri on January 28, 1929 to Esmeralda (Tibbetts) and Gordon Barker Bennett. At birth, she was named Marvella Delores Bennett and joined her older brothers and sisters – Walter, Boyd, Margaret, Betty, and Burton.
When mom was a year old, her birth mother, who was 29 at the time, died of tuberculosis and her father was unable to care for his six children on his own. All the children were taken from him, with the understanding that when he was able to care for them, he would regain custody. Gordon worked hard, eventually getting a good job with the Union Pacific Railroad, but in the meantime, the children had all been placed in orphanages out of state and he never was able to get any information on them in order to regain custody. This was the greatest heartache of his life. Mom and some of her siblings were placed in an orphanage in Boise, Idaho. During the year that mom was in the orphanage, it was her sister Margaret’s responsibility to care for her.
In October of 1931, when mom was two, she was adopted by Mae Belle Mercer of Wilder, Idaho, where she grew up surrounded by love among a large extended family. At the time of the adoption, Grandma Mercer changed mom’s name to Donna Mae Mercer. Mom grew up on a farm learning the value of hard work and family. She graduated from Wilder High School in 1948. When mom turned 16, Grandma Mercer helped her with the search for her biological brothers and sisters. By the time she was 25, she was able to be reunited with all her biological brothers and sisters, except for Walter, who had also died of tuberculosis.
As mom was growing up, her family had fruit orchards and the produce was shipped all over the country. When mom was a teen, she wrote her name and address on one of the prune basket lids. David and Vera Moore of Eureka, Kansas happened to buy that particular basket of prunes, never noticing her name or address on the lid. The lid got tossed into a shed where several years later, it was retrieved to cover the stovepipe hole in the wall. At that time, Grandma Moore noticed a girl’s name and address on the lid and encouraged her son Edgar (Eddie), to write to the girl. This began a correspondence that lasted several years until on May 8, 1949, Edgar Omer Moore and Donna Mae Mercer were wed on the lawn of the country home she grew up in near Wilder. After the wedding, mom and dad moved to Kansas, where they lived for ten years in various small towns as dad worked as a mechanic and ranch hand. It was during mom’s years in Kansas that she gave birth to their three daughters, Janet, Barbara (Barbie) and Debbie. She also was reunited with her biological father, Gordon Bennett.
In 1959, the family moved to Caldwell, Idaho, where Donna and Eddie raised their three daughters. Mom’s passion in life was her family and nothing meant more to her than time spent with them. As her daughters grew, she delighted in seeing them grow from little girls into young women. Joy filled her life when daughters Barbara and Debbie married and her family grew to include son- in-laws David Curwick and Paul Williams. Shortly thereafter, the grandchildren began coming and there never was a more proud grandma than Donna. Tim, Chris, David, Gina, Melissa, and Jennifer were the light of her life. The years passed and four great grandsons joined the family-Levi, Killian, Cayden, and Arlo. Mom’s family was her whole life and there wasn’t anything she wasn’t willing to do for any of them.
Mom continued to live in Caldwell until her health started to decline, at which time she moved to Anacortes, WA in 2002, where her daughter Debbie, son-in-law Dave, and grandkids, Chris, Gina, and Jennifer lived. She lived in Anacortes for a little over three years, until the moist coastal air started taking a toll on her asthma and COPD. In 2005, she moved to the drier climate of Tucson, AZ, where daughter Barbara, son-in-law Paul, and two of her three grandkids, David and Melissa lived. Barbara and Paul’s other son, Tim, lived in Washington at the time.
In the summer of 2012, Donna moved to Lewiston, Idaho to live out her remaining years in the home of her daughter, Janet.
Donna is survived by her daughter, Janet, of Lewiston, ID; Barbara (Paul) Williams of Tucson, AZ , their children, Tim, David (Angela), Melissa (Brinton) and great grandsons, Levi and Cayden; Debbie Curwick (Dave) of Anacortes, WA, their children Christopher, Gina, Jennifer, and great grandsons, Killian and Arlo.
Mom was much loved and will be missed by her family. A special thank you to her friends, Gloria B., Cheryl O., Sherry G., Deborah G., Brenda P., Barb H., Danielle P., Randi O., Pam and Greg D. and all the girls at TOPS 798. Another special thank you to Elite Hospice in Clarkston, WA. Their commitment to quality care their compassion toward clients and their families was truly a blessing.
