LaDonna Ann Gotshall

It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the passing of LaDonna Ann Quirk Gotshall, 81, of Marshalltown, Iowa. LaDonna passed away on Saturday morning, September 26, 2026, at UnityPoint Health in Marshalltown.

LaDonna was born on August 31, 1945 in Marshalltown to Raymond Quirk and Dorothy Vivian (Pelham) Quirk. She graduated from Marshalltown High School in 1964, and married the love of her life, Herbert George Gotshall, Jr., on September 28, 1970 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The couple moved to Indianapolis, where their daughter Jennifer was born in 1972. LaDonna worked briefly in retail before becoming a Secretary for the U.S. Department of Defense/Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), retiring after 26 years of dedicated public service.

LaDonna was a lifelong Catholic and lover of music, specifically singing hymns from the mass. She was a member of the choir at St. Simon Catholic Parish in Indianapolis before moving to Marshalltown after her husband’s passing in 2022. She loved to travel, having vacationed in London and Austria while living on the U.S. Army base in Kaiserslautern, Germany. She was passionate about cooking and baking, loved to read, and was crazy about her dogs and her granddogs!

LaDonna was preceded in death by her husband, parents, siblings Donald, Sharon, Mary, and James, and two great-grandchildren. She is survived by her daughter Jennifer Smith (Curtis) of Gardner, Kansas; granddaughter Erin Neff (Christian) of Lenexa, Kansas; and several nieces and nephews, including Jeffrey and Dee Linton, Tanya Leverette, Michelle Leverette, Tami Quirk Holubar (Kraig), Kristin Quirk Eggers (Steve), and Patrick Quirk. She is also survived by many great-nieces and great-nephews, including Taylor and Sean Leverette; Tyler (Kenzie), Connor, and Halle Linton; Myles and Tanner Bartlett; and Jacob (Kristina) and Shea Holubar.

LaDonna had a strong passion for reading to children, and loved having done so in the classrooms of her daughter and granddaughter many times when they were younger. We ask that in lieu of flowers, you honor LaDonna’s commitment to children’s literacy by making a donation to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library by visiting this link: https://donate.imaginationlibrary.com/.

All are welcome to join us in a Celebration of Life service for LaDonna at 12 noon on Thursday, October 8 at Mitchell Family Funeral Home in Marshalltown. We invite you to wear shades of pink and purple, LaDonna’s favorite colors, as we celebrate her kindness and the light she brought to the world. Burial will be at a later date at Crown Hill National Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.

For more information or to send a condolence, please visit www.mitchellfh.com or call 641-844-1234. Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for LaDonna and her family.

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