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Donna Marie Kirby, 56, of Sturgis, Michigan, died at her home on Sunday, October 7, 2018. The passing of our Donna is something that our family will get through, but never get over. Donna was born on July 20, 1962 at the old Sturgis Memorial Hospital. She was the firstborn child of James and Mary Kirby, Sturgis, Michigan.
Donna was part of the inaugural class at Pathfinder Center in Centreville and cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony. She loved attending school and was very active in Special Olympics, competing in swimming, bowling, and track & field events. Donna attended Pathfinder through age 26 and graduated in 1988. She then began working at the former E & K restaurant in Centreville, and worked many years for Ed and Katie Miller and Carol Rice. Donna enjoyed her days at the restaurant and loved talking to the customers.
Donna had many friends, but a few were very special to her. She exchanged greeting cards with one very dear person and candy bars with another special couple. These people were very loving to Donna, and she enjoyed giving back as much as receiving gifts. Donna also spent many hours coloring velvet pictures for friends and family. She was a true artist with these and very carefully colored each one with her own unique design, giving them to loved ones when they were completed.
Donna and her parents bowled together in the retirement league in Sturgis. On any given day, Donna loved to bowl and was happy with a score of 100. She was also a devout Tigers fan and often watched games at night, giving everyone a recap of the game the next day. It was a bad day if the Tigers had lost, but she was always happy when her favorite player, Cabrera, had hit a homerun. Donna also traveled to many places with her parents, enjoying time at the casino playing nickel slots, and visiting relatives down south. She especially loved Civil War battlefields and would buy the CDs to listen to as they drove through the park, then bring the CD home and listen to it for weeks afterward. She loved country music and had many favorite singers that she would listen and sing along to.
Donna is survived by a family that will be forever changed because of her life; her parents; brothers, Doug (Darci) Kirby, Sturgis, and Dennis (Larissa) Kirby, Sturgis; Nieces, Narissa (Leland) Ross II, Three Rivers, Alesha Kirby, Jackson, Wy., Hannah (Randy) Troyer, Sturgis, and Lauren (Jon) VanDuyne, Sturgis; nephews, Darian (Christen) Kirby, Cambridge, Wi., and Collin Kirby, Kalamazoo; great-nephews, Leland Ross III, Three Rivers, and Jackson Troyer, Maxwell Troyer, and Owen Troyer, Sturgis; many aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Because of Donna’s great love for children, the family would like to honor her memory and ask that memorial donations be made to Mark 10:14, the new Early Childhood Center at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Centreville.
Relatives and friends will be received on on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 from 4 – 7 p.m. at Eley Funeral Home, Centreville. Funeral services will take place at Eley Funeral Home, Centreville, on Thursday, October 11, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. Pastor David Grimm, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, will officiate.Interment will follow in Prairie River Cemetery and a luncheon will be held at the church following the burial service.Online condolences can be left for the family at www.eleyfuneralhomes.com.
