Donna Marie Woolsey

Donna Marie (Farmer) Woolsey, 88, of Mountain View, Missouri, went to be with the Lord in Heaven on July 26, 2023, at the age of 88.  Donna was born in Welch, Oklahoma, on December 24, 1934.  She was the youngest of four girls and spent her younger years in parts of Oklahoma, Illinois, and Missouri. Donna Marie was saved and baptized in an old Baptist Church in Carmi, Illinois when she was 9 or 10 years old.

Donna graduated from Mountain View High School, home of the Pirates, in 1952.  The Summer following high school, she married her high-school sweetheart, Milford Woolsey in Sharp County, Arkansas.  Together they created a homestead along the Pine Branch, on the Upper Jacks Fork River, where they raised their family.  They spent the first years of their marriage traveling to Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming, where Milford worked cutting timber.  She traveled with the boys staying along the timber trail in the 1950s.  They returned to Pine Branch to buy land; together after buying their first farmhouse and moving it on logs to where they wanted it, they ended up buying the ground that it had initially sat on.  It became quite the tale of their adventures together as they grew the family farm and raised their five sons.

As generations of family continued, Milford and Donna enjoyed hosting horseback rides and outdoor time around the fire with friends and neighbors visiting the Upper Jacks Fork.  Generations gathered along the branch during hunting seasons to host family traditions & Thanksgiving celebrations at the cabin.  Summer days were spent picnicing at Woolsey Bluff, or with a watermelon cooling in the spring near their favorite swimming hole along the Jacks Fork River. Donna was known to take all nine of her younger grandkids with their inner tubes, to float to her favorite spot on the river.  Donna was a caregiver to her family, and she cared for Milford in his final days.  Together they shared many porch visits with laughter, wisdom of farming, and stories of their lives spent in the heart of the Ozarks.

Donna is preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 65 years, Milford Woolsey; her sister,Corilee Farmer, Betty Majors; sons: James Woolsey and Michael Woolsey.

Donna is survived by three sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.  She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Verna Woolsey of Mountain View, and many nieces and nephews.

Milford and Donna Woolsey were married on June 11, 1952, in Hardy, Arkansas.  Together they had five boys, who farmed and lived in Southern Missouri. They were very proud of their five sons, their wives, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

James Milford Woolsey and wife Pennie; children Calvin Woolsey, wife Charity, Jason Woolsey, James Jayhue,and wife Jessi: grandchildren: Wyatt, Waylon,wife Haylee and baby Maggie Jaymes, Abby, Sarah and husband Bo with children Owen and Hayes, Josie, Addison, Tanner, Jaycelynn, and Cason.

Michael Lee Woolsey and wife Bonnie; children Mark Woolsey and wife Kelly, Ben Woolsey and fiancé Jaime, Luke Woolsey and wife Melissa; grandchildren Nathan and wife Lindsay, Beau, Tanner, Bella, Cameron, James and wife Brady, Haley and husband Jordon, Tanner, and Liberty; great-grandchildren Norah, Walker, Ryli, McKaelynn, Jenson, and Malaya.

Scott Wayne Woolsey and wife Debbie; David Woolsey and wife Kaycia; Linda Goines and husband Brad; grandchildren Brice and wife Rachel, Matthew, and Courtney.

Douglas Ray Woolsey and wife Tina; children Daniel Woolsey and his wife Jackie; Tianna Brooks, and Dennis Woolsey and wife Julie; grandchildren Elise, Kenna, Calle, Taylor, Taygan, Abby, Korbin, Makiya, Kayden, Nate, Kaylee, and Shaylin.

Steven Woolsey and Melissa; children Curtis Woolsey; wife Nora and newborn, Oliver, and Maverick Woolsey.

Donna enjoyed gardening, crocheting, reading her Bible, walking, and spending time with her family.  She had a green thumb and her gardens of irises would transplant into her grandkids and their kids' future homesites.  She crocheted keepsakes to be forever cherished by her grandkids. The original farm-house would be where memories were made of  frying-up picked mushrooms,  summertime hand-cranked ice cream, grandma's famous blackberry cobbler, red kool-aid, and popcorn balls. Christmas celebrations together at the farm-house will forever be memories cherished.

Later in their lives, Milford and Donna spent summers in Wyoming, camping in the mountains, where they both enjoyed spending time with family, hiking, and fishing.   During the winter months, she and Milford enjoyed their time in Texas.  She would bring home bushels of oranges from southern-grown orange trees.  They enjoyed their time traveling together and the kids knew, based on the season change, when they would be expected back home, in Missouri.

Donna was a lifelong member of the Arroll Community Church.

Today, reunited in heaven, Grandma Donna leaves behind a host of loved ones that she has forever left a piece of her heart in their lives. She will be forever loved and missed.