Donna R. Burrows

Donna Rae Burrows, age 70 years of Niles, Michigan; wife, mother, grandmother, cook, thrifter, and child caregiver died peacefully at 3:48 a.m. on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at The Ernestine M. Raclin House of The Center for Hospice Care in Mishawaka, Indiana following an extended illness.  Her family is grateful for the kind and compassionate care provided by the hospice staff.

She was born on March 3, 1954 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Donald L. and Hazel (Clark) Bruce, and came with her family to South Bend, Indiana in 1955.  She was graduated from the South Bend John Adams High School.  She was employed in the offices of the William F. Alford Company, Inc. in Niles for many years.  Later she was employed at the South Bend Hebrew Day School as a teacher’s aide, and by the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation in after-school childcare.  She has lived in Niles since 1975.

Donna was an avid reader, usually preferring romantic novels, and enjoyed thrifting and antiquing.  She was a great cook, and her Thanksgiving family celebrations were evidence of her skills, especially her sausage dressing.   She also had a recipe and method for homemade ice cream that elevated homemade ice cream above its great standard, and which she prepared often.

On June 21, 1975 in South Bend she married William R. Burrows with whom she celebrated last year the remarkable Forty-eighth anniversary of their wedding.

Surviving family includes her husband, Bill Burrows and their children, Daniel Burrows of South Bend and Kelly (& Matthew) Rosenhagen of Granger, Indiana; grandchildren Hayley Nicole Rosenhagen, Elijah Matthew Rosenhagen, and Ava Marley Mae Rosenhagen; several nieces and nephews; and a wonderful circle of great friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Donald and Hazel Bruce; and by her sister, Sarah Bruce Lubrecht.

The Memorial Service for Donna Burrows will be at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, 2024 at the Halbritter-Wickens Funeral Home, 615 East Main Street in Niles with Pastor Jim Wing of Niles officiating.  The family will receive relatives and friends on Thursday, at the funeral home, beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Contributions in memory of Donna may be made to The Center for Hospice Care Hospice Foundation, 501 Comfort Place, Mishawaka, Indiana 46545; https://foundationforhospice.org/donate/.  Online condolences and memories may be left at:

www.halbritterwickens.com

Seventy years is exactly what is scripturally promised, but Donna’s 70 years feels far too short to all whom she loved, her family who felt her love through her cooking as well as hugs and a listening ear, especially her children and – more than anyone - Bill.