Donna Nota

Donna Nota was a beautiful person to know and to love. An exceptional wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, she relished in bringing joy to the hearts of the ones she loved. Donna loved her family dearly. Deeply missed, she will forever be known for her ability to overcome difficult circumstances and her strong faith in God, from which she drew much strength.

Joining her older sister, Eleanor, baby Donna Jane was welcomed home by her parents on October 25, 1927, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her birth brought great joy and happiness into the family home. Sadly, her sister passed away due to a medical condition by the time Donna was the tender age of five years old leaving her as the only child.

Donna grew up on the northwest side of town during the depression. Her father, Edmund Radeck, had served in WWI and her mother, Jane Radeck, worked outside the home at Globe Knitting Works. Donna attended Harrison Park Elementary and Union High School. Times were tough for the family, and Donna began working at a local factory to assemble Jeep tail lights during WWII. Donna always held a strong interest in becoming a pilot. She took flying lessons yet realized her dreams were lofty for a female living during that time. Donna later became a long-distance operator and supervisor for Michigan Bell, where she also served as Vice President of her Communication Workers Union. In her free time, she played the piano and always had a genuine love for music.

Right out of a romantic movie, she met Peter Nota while she was attending her cousin’s wedding. He was there in support of the groom and his first glance at Donna caught his attention! Peter repeatedly asked her out for two weeks after the ceremony. She finally agreed as long as he brought along his dog, a Redbone Coonhound! The two of them were engaged before joining in marriage on April 6, 1951 at Trinity Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. The happy couple set off for their honeymoon to Washington DC before returning to their busy schedules.

Peter and Donna then drove to California where Peter had an emergency appendectomy, an incident where God revealed His presence by directing them right to a surgeon over a weekend. Afterwards, Donna rose to the challenge and drove them through treacherous mountain roads and back home to Michigan. Peter operated his Peter J. Nota Concrete Construction Company, with Donna keeping the books and assisting with bids, while continuing her work at Michigan Bell before they welcomed their five children, Michele, Diane, Bruce, Laurie, and David into their hearts and home. The Notas enjoyed dining out on Fridays at their favorite restaurant, Bylsmas.

Sadly, Donna’s life would be forever changed when Peter fell at a job site and died a week later in 1966. As a widow with her five young children, Donna was driven to maintain their lives as normally as possible. She leaned on her strong faith life to guide her through these years and trusted in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Donna ran the construction business until all of the jobs were bid out to other companies and then she sold the business. She was blessed to hear that Michigan Bell had an opening in a new department and returned to work to support her family. Donna had always held a fondness for our nation’s capital since she and Peter had honeymooned there and was blessed to take her all of her children and a grandson there. As a family, they enjoyed gathering for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Each Christmas affirmed Donna’s Christian faith, that Jesus was born as an infant, lived a sinless life, was crucified on the Cross for sins, was dead and buried, was resurrected and ascended into Heaven!

From a very young age, Donna enjoyed shopping at the local Farmer’s market. She liked to buy fresh tomatoes and yellow beans when they were in season. An avid bird lover, Donna enjoyed feeding the birds. She also loved to play “The Holy City” on the piano and listen to hymns in her later years. Donna’s father introduced her to the Detroit Tigers baseball team as a young girl. As a loyal fan, win or lose, she always looked forward to their next season. She loved to fix homemade scalloped potatoes with ham or meatloaf, and when it came time to dine out, Donna frequented Bill Knapps. A drive to the lakeshore in Grand Haven or to the Kent County airport to watch the planes takeoff and land always lifted her spirits.

These last few years, Donna was a mighty prayer warrior, praying continually for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who loved her as “Donnie,” “Nina,” and “Grandma.” In the most recent months during the global Covid pandemic, Donna looked forward to staying connected with her family over the phone or reading scripture or listening to hymns. Several Bible verses remained important to her, including John 3:16 and John 14:2-6, 27. Her loved ones are blessed by their many wonderful years with her and will surely miss her. They find comfort in knowing she is now at peace in her Heavenly home with Jesus.

Donna Jane Nota, age 93, of Grand Rapids, joined her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on December 11, 2020. She was preceded in death by her husband, Peter Nota; grandsons, Pete and Kyle Nota, and sister, Eleanor Radeck. Donna is survived by her children; Michele Van De Mae, Diane (David) Munson, Bruce (Diane) Nota, Laurie (Kevin) Wierenga and David (Mary Beth) Nota; grandchildren, Jason Mennetti, Christopher Wierenga, Rachel (David) Benjamin, Autumn (Jonathan) Hake, Sarah (Jake) Bloemers, Jacob Nota and Benjamin Nota; great-grandchildren; Natalie, Samantha, Ethan, Josie, Courtnie, and Remington; and sister-in-law, Jean Price. Due to COVID restrictions, a private family service will be held at the funeral home. Contributions in her memory may be made to Guiding Light Ministries in Grand Rapids. Please visit www.heritagelifestory.com to submit a favorite memory, photo or to sign the guestbook online.