DONA MAE (HINSCH) FLETCHER

As a young girl, Dona worked at the Dutch Mill scooping ice cream and then at The Dog House, a local restaurant. Upon winning the Miss Fort Dodge contest she caught the eye of then, confirmed bachelor, Jack E. Fletcher. After a courtship filled with shop talk and perfecting the fox trot, they wed on September 3, 1955.

Long before HGTV, Jack and Dona were the original fixer-uppers. Jack built their first home while Dona lived in a camper and then the home’s basement while Jack finished the living quarters above. Over the course of their marriage they purchased and renovated seven homes in and around Fort Dodge all while raising four children.

Always a good cook, Dona enjoyed hosting holiday meals for her family and their children. Later in life, she initiated the 4:00 p.m. ritual of “Wine Time” that was enjoyed by anyone present. Lake time in Minnesota was a favorite vacation destination — first at her in-laws’ cabin in Akeley, Minnesota and then at a cabin purchased by Jack and Dona on Lake Amelia near Glenwood, Minnesota.

For many years, Dona worked as a bookkeeper at Fort Dodge Machine & Supply, the family business run by Jack and his brother, Gill. Dona was a faithful and active member of St Paul’s Lutheran Church. She participated in Beta Sigma Phi sorority, golf leagues at the Fort Dodge Country Club and several city bowling leagues. Dona was an avid reader, stunning ballroom dancer, the queen of crossword puzzles, and an accomplished bridge player. Dona was well known for her quick wit and occasional irreverence. When asked about the spelling of her first name, Dona liked to say that her family was so poor they could only afford one ‘n’. Or mused out loud about how she always got the urge to scrub her toilets when she looked at the family’s artificial Christmas tree. Never one to feign interest in small talk, she was a straight shooter and a reliable and trusted friend. She’ll be remembered for long cribbage matches, her personal style and her go-to phrase that provided comfort in times of trouble or disappointment, and perspective when celebrating her own personal successÃ-“This too shall pass.”

Dona was preceded in death by her parents, sisters, Emma Brewer and Marvel Evans and brother’s, Charles, George, Jerome and Ronald.

She is survived by her husband, Jack, four children, Bobbie Jean Clark of Council Bluffs, Kathleen “Kathy” Peterson of Fort Dodge, JoEllyn “Jody” (Jim) Mansueto of Pella, and David (Linda) Fletcher of Schenectady, New York, eight grandchildren, nine great- grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

Funeral services will be 1:00 p.m. Saturday, June 15, 2019 at St. Paul Lutheran Church with Rev. Allen Henderson officiating. Burial will follow at North Lawn Cemetery. A visitation will be Friday TODAY from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home. Memorial may be left to St. Paul Lutheran Church.