Donna Jeanne Welch Praast passed away on Feb. 25, 2023, at age 85. She was born Feb. 18, 1938, in Seattle, Washington, the oldest daughter of Donald Welch (1913, Arlington, Iowa) and Zena Rider Welch (1915, Alberta, Canada).
On Sep. 1, 1962, Donna met Donald Albert Praast on a blind date arranged by Don’s older brother Cliff and Donna’s best friend Sharon Jiencke Schneider. They married on June 1, 1963, in Kent, WA, with Cliff and Sharon as their attendants. They later adopted two daughters, Laura Ann (1972), and Linda Renee (1974).
Donna was a stay-at-home mom before earning a BA from Central WA Univ. in 1986. She taught first and second grade at Kent Elem. School in Kent, WA until retiring in 1999. Don and Donna spent 14 years as “snowbirds” in Sun City West, Arizona, before returning to Kent, WA in 2015, where Donna met regularly with the “neighborhood lunch bunch” and helped to plan annual picnics with her Kent Meridian High School 1956 classmates. She loved to work out in her yard and cheer on the Seattle Storm WNBA team. Most of all, Donna loved to make baskets, and once won the Grand Champion ribbon at the Washington State Fair for her weaving skills!
Donna is survived by her daughters Laura Ann and Linda Renee Praast of Kent, WA; Laura’s children Paulina Barton (Matt), Alex Anderson (Emily Barlow), and Haley Anderson; great granddaughters Aili Anderson and Hayden Barton; sister Jacqueline “Jackie” Schoenfeld (George); and sister-in-law Alice “Susie” Praast (Cliff). Donna was predeceased by Don, her husband of 56+ years, and by her parents Donald and Zena. Interment will be at Tahoma National Cemetery near Covington, WA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Donna’s name to the King County Library System Foundation at kclsfoundation.org.
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