Donna Mildred Westergaard

Donna Mildred Westergaard was born April 20, 1942, in Portland, Ore., the daughter of Richard Gillilan and Katharine Marshall Gillilan. Her brother, Bruce, was born a few years later.

Donna’s father worked for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and, as a result, the family moved a number of times throughout her youth. They lived in Portland, Grants Pass, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Pendleton. Donna had fond memories and good friends in each city.

She was an animal lover from childhood and throughout her adulthood could still recall the names, vital statistics and personal habits of the neighborhood dogs in each of her childhood cities. She was particularly fond of a Great Dane named Lady, who would regularly walk her to the Grants Pass library and back home again. Donna was also a lifelong supporter of public libraries.

After high school, Donna attended Eastern Oregon State College in La Grande. She then switched to Central Washington State College in Ellensburg. She earned spending money by working in the college cafeteria. While working in the cafeteria kitchen, she met a young man named George Westergaard. Unwisely, he corrected her dish-handling methods. Nevertheless, she did eventually agree to marry him. Donna and George wed in 1964 in Portland, later attending the University of Oregon together and getting their master’s degrees. Upon graduation, they both embarked on teaching careers, mostly in the Pacific Northwest. Donna taught English and journalism in Yakima, Wash., and Eugene, Ore.

When they moved to Pennsylvania so George could attend graduate school, Donna taught at Langley Middle School in Pittsburgh.

Donna and George returned to Oregon in 1973. Their daughter, Kristen, was born in 1974 in Eugene. In addition to raising a daughter in Eugene, Donna participated in many community activities. These included studying psychology at the University of Oregon, joining the Lane County Mental Health Board, biking the local trails and constructing costumes for her daughter’s school plays. Later on, she discovered an abiding love for visual arts and enjoyed visiting local art galleries and attending drawing classes at Lane Community College.

In 1999, Donna and George moved to Bellevue, Wash., where Donna added “loyal Mariners fan” to her list of hobbies and passions. When George retired from teaching, the couple moved to Clinton, Wash. Donna loved living so near the towns of Langley and Coupeville, enjoying the rich arts environment, the plentiful antiquing opportunities and the incredible sunsets over Useless Bay.

Donna was a lifelong book-lover, instilling her love of libraries and literature in her daughter Kristen. Donna loved good food, good books and a good joke. She was a compassionate, open-minded and loving person, great at making those around her feel loved and appreciated. She had a great big laugh and an even bigger soft spot for her four-legged friends (who never ever had to sleep on the floor).