Mass of Christian burial will take place on Tuesday, July 5 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Parish: St. Mary Catholic Church in Marshalltown with Fr. Kyle Tietz officiating. She will be laid to rest next to her beloved husband at Riverside Cemetery. Friends and family are also invited to attend a visitation prior to the service also at the church from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Mitchell Family Funeral Home has been entrusted with the care of Donna and her family.

DonnaRae Ellen Kelly was born June 30, 1932, in Marshalltown to Leo and Gertrude (Stebbins) Kelly. She grew up on South 1st Street, attending and graduating from St. Mary’s Catholic School across the street in 1950.

Donna was united in marriage to Robert Kopsa on June 2, 1952, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Marshalltown. Together they farmed in the Marshalltown, Green Mountain, Vinton and Ferguson areas before moving to the farm south of Laurel in 1969. In the fall of 2012, they moved to the Embers. Following Bob’s death in May of 2014, Donna resided in nursing homes.

Before marriage, Donna was employed as a telephone operator for Northwestern Bell. She was later employed as a pricing clerk at Fisher Controls before leaving to pursue a long and active career as a farmer’s wife and mother. In her later years, Donna worked as a short-order cook in the Marshalltown Community College student lounge cafeteria.

Donna was one of the first females to serve as a school board member for the SEMCO Community School District from 1972 to 1981. She was active in the Town and Country Fraus and the OUR Club of Laurel. In addition to these groups she was on the board of the Laurel Community Chest, Laurel Library and a member of the Laurel American Legion Auxiliary. Donna served as a Boy Scout Leader for her sons’ scout troop in Laurel. She also served as Sunday School instructor for Scared Heart Catholic Church in Newton. In her spare time, she enjoyed painting and selling her crafts at shows throughout central Iowa.

Left to share Donna’s memory are her seven children: Sheila (Bob) Beach, of Gilman; Gary (Kaye), of Newton; Matthew, of Gilman, Patrick (Kathy), of Laurel; William (Annette), of Gilman; Janet (Doug) Beadle, of LeGrand; and Kelly (Tabitha), of State Center: nineteen grandchildren, thirteen great grandchildren with two expected later this year, and one great-great grandchild. Her sister-in-law DeDe Kopsa and her family, of Tama, also survive Donna.

Her parents, husband, son Mark and her brother-in-law John Kopsa precede her in death.

-lovingly written by the family