Donna J Williams

Donna J. Williams, age 97, of Marshalltown, Iowa, passed away April 26th at the Hubbard Care Center with her daughter at her side and under the care of St. Croix Hospice.

Donna had graciously donated her body for medical research to the University of Iowa. Services will be held at the Bangor Liberty Friends Church on Friday, June 20, 2025 beginning at 10:00 A.M. A visitation will be held one hour prior to services and she will be interred next to her husband Arthur at the Bangor Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Donna’s name may be directed to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Scleroderma Foundation or Camp Quaker Heights. For additional information or to send a condolence to the family, please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234.

Donna Joan Parsons was born August 15, 1927, in Marshalltown, Iowa. She was the eldest of three daughters and the older identical twin born to Vern C. and Hester (Green) Parsons. Donna grew up on the family farm near Bangor, Iowa. She was a Class of 1945 graduate of Union High School. Donna attended William Penn College, graduating in 1949 with a BA music education and English. While at Penn, Donna met Arthur L Williams. In June 1949, they were married at the First Friends Church in Marshalltown. The ceremony was a double wedding including her twin sister, Frances, who married Neil Martin.

Donna and Art built their own home in Center Point, Iowa. They raised three children, Marlene, Shirley, and Gregory.

Donna earned her Master’s degree in Music Education at the University of Iowa. Over the years, Donna went on to have a 40-year career in teaching. She started teaching band and vocal music in Eastern Iowa at Alburnett, Center Point, and finally retired from Cedar Rapids. She and Art moved to Marshalltown in 1993. In retirement, they spent 30 years wintering at Palm Shadows RV Park in Donna, Texas, where Donna directed the park choir until the age of 93. Arthur passed away in 2012.

In her free time, Donna was involved within many organizations and clubs including NEA/ISEA, IRSPA, a lifetime member of Cedar Rhapsodies Chapter of Sweet Adelines, served as a secretary/treasurer for IMEA, and spent several years on the board of directors for William Penn. She enjoyed her hobbies which consisted of fishing, birdwatching, traveling, reading, and studying her family genealogy.

Those left to cherish her memory are her daughter, Marlene (Dennis) Reece; grandchildren, Matt (Kristen) Reece, Christopher (Jen) Reece, Allison Reece, Leslie Scoville and Jon (Jennifer) Scoville; great-grandchildren, Aleck, Rhaena and Micah Reece, Graham and Elliot Reece, Austin Scoville, and Ethan Scoville; brother-in-law, Neil (Peggy) Martin; sister-in-law, Merrilou Williams; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur; her children, Gregory Allen Williams and Shirley Williams Scoville; parents, Vern and Hester Parsons; twin sister, Frances Jean Martin and her other sister, Beverly Ann Dillon.