Donna Mae Otto Clark

Donna Mae Otto Clark, 90, of Eldora, passed away Sunday, July 7, 2024, at the Israel Family Hospice in Ames Iowa. A memorial visitation will be held on Monday, August 5, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. until time of memorial service 10:30 a.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Eldora. Burial will take place privately by the family in Storm Lake. Memorials may be directed to the family.

Donna was born in Storm Lake Dec. 26, 1933, to Martin and Opal Otto. She was raised on the family farm as an only child where the best playmates were her cousins and her pets. She attended parochial school at St John’s Lutheran School in Hanover, where she was confirmed and finished her education there after 8 years. She then attended and graduated from Galva High School in 1952.

Donna married Frank Clark in June 1953 and they resided in Storm Lake. Daughter Barbara was born in 1954. They began the first of many moves the family would make over the next 50 years around the Midwest for Frank’s employment. Son Michael was born while they lived in Oelwein in 1959 and then son Gary was born when they lived in Dumont in 1960. Their address changes would take them from there to Iowa Falls, Columbus Nebraska, Wichita Kansas, Little Rock, Bryant, and Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and then finally the Kansas City area where they lived until Frank passed away in 2009. Donna relocated to Eldora, Iowa to live close to Barb and was there until a stroke necessitated a move to assisted living.

Donna loved her sewing projects and was so good at it. She constructed Barb’s wedding dress and many other garments over the years. Later, in Eldora, she sewed quilts that church ladies worked on for world relief. In the 1960’s, she was sewing Barbie doll clothes and was VERY busy with that. While in Kansas City she sewed hundreds of Barbie outfits to be given to little girls for Metro Lutheran Mission. She embroidered tea towels, cross stitched, and was always busy with some sort of handiwork. 

Donna loved her Lord and was always happy to go to church and activities there wherever she lived. She took her turn at Sunday School and Vacation Bible School teaching when the kids were involved in it. She occasionally worked in the church kitchen to help serve meals for funerals. She attended church every Sunday and special services in between.

She survived and recovered from a stroke in January of 2023 and then another stroke on July 5, 2024, was the signal that the Lord was waiting for her in heaven. She joined her Lord on July 7.

She is survived by her children, Barbara (David) Splett of Ames, Michael of Owasso, Oklahoma, and Gary (Cathy) of West Palm Beach, Florida. Grandchildren, Matthew (Joni) Splett, Brianne (Logan) Anderson, Shawn Clark, Ryan Clark, Holly (Derrick) Nolker, Meghan (Harry) Potter, Amanda (Derwin) Ramirez, and John Michael Clark. She is also survived by 15 great grandchildren.

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