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Donna's Obituary posted to Facebook on December 27, 2022:
Donna Dovey Buster was a caring wife, mother, grandmother, sister, teacher, and friend. She left this world peacefully on November 26th, 2022 at age 77 after an ongoing battle with heart failure.
Donna was born to Donald and Leota Dovey on June 23, 1945. She grew up on “A” street in Parkland with her parents and her three brothers ~ Jim, Rick, and Chuck Dovey. Although having 3 brothers could be challenging, Donna loved her brothers dearly and became one tough cookie from her experiences with them!
After graduating from Franklin Pierce High School in 1963, Donna chased her dreams of becoming a teacher by attending and graduating from Pacific Lutheran University.
Donna married Kenneth Buster on October 12, 1968 at the Pacific Lutheran temple. Together, they had 2 children: Steven and Renee. The family moved several times before settling in the South Hill neighborhood of Puyallup.
Donna spent some time as a substitute teacher before taking a full-time teaching position with the Bethel School District in 1978. She then settled at Evergreen Elementary in Spanaway, where she worked as a 2nd grade teacher, 5th grade teacher, and technology specialist. Mrs. Buster’s students knew her to have high expectations, yet to be consistent, fair and kind. Her colleagues enjoyed her hard work, dedication to her students, and her sense of humor!
Donna loved spending time in the yard, pampering her cat Rocky, traveling, golfing, reading, and getting together with her many friends to play pinochle or to just chat. She especially adored her grandchildren, Ben and Alyssa, and she was skilled at coming up with many ways to entertain and spoil them! Renee and her husband, Gary, were lucky to have “Grandma Donna” nearby to take care of the grandkids and give them some extra love. The family was also lucky to have Donna’s memories to rely on ~ she was the “family historian” and could recall names, stories, and details from the past with amazing accuracy!
Another of Donna’s favorite pastimes was working on organizing class reunion events. Her Franklin Pierce class of 1963 was beloved by her, and her former classmates admired Donna for her hard work and dedication to keeping their class connected over the years.
Donna will be missed by so many: her former students, colleagues, friends, and especially her family. The heavens gained an extraordinary caretaker and a beautiful soul.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Donna at the Puyallup Activity Center’s multipurpose room on January 28th. (210 W Pioneer in downtown Puyallup, near Pioneer Park) The Celebration will be “open house” style, so feel free to drop by anytime between noon and 3:00. A light lunch will be served. If you plan on attending and would like to share a memory of Donna, please bring a typed or handwritten story (less than a page) to post up on a Memory Board.
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Dan Holder
Donna was the ubiquitous energizer bunny. I was pleased when she reached out and pulled me in to help with our 50th reunion, then trusting me to set up and maintain our class website. She was a master sleuth, chasing down and keeping track of as many FP grads that she could. I don't know if she ever really retired. She kept her finger in the education realm subbing and helping with classroom testing and other teaching projects. WE'll miss her. Good bye, Donna. You done good!
Mira Mailand (Johnson)
Donna, there are no words to express all she was to us. Glue,yes. Ultimate planner, yes. But we struggle for just the right words to express our relationship to her. She was more than a classmate and more than a friend.
I have known Donna since we were both four and a half years old. In the early days of working mom's , I was farmed out ot Grandma Golberg who lived across the street from Donna. Our friendship began then and humanly ends now. I live with the reassurance that we will meet again someday when this old body joins her. I am sure she is planning a greater reunion than that of our upcoming 60th. It is just her style.
Donna never changed. She was the always caring, always interested, always excepting, up for a laugh. She was an incredible woman that we were blessed to know. She touched all of our lives. We will miss her greatly, but we will always remember her.
Mira Mailand (johnson)