September 8, 1943 – March 22, 2024: Donna (Nielsen) Merriam, 80 years old, passed away at 4:23 a.m. on Friday, March 22, 2024, at Holy Cross Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, South Bend, Indiana. Donna was born on September 8, 1943, to the late John and Esther (Morris) Nielsen. She had three siblings: John Nielsen (deceased) married to Linda, June Bays married to James Philip, and Robert Nielsen married to Vera. She had nine nieces and nephews and many great-nieces and nephews.
Donna married Tom Merriam on September 4, 1988. Tom had two children from a former marriage named Jennie and Michael. Donna and Tom were involved in their church and their relationship with God was important to them. They remained married until Tom’s death on January 15, 2018.
Donna was raised on a farm near Lostant, Illinois. She enjoyed playing games with her siblings and loved living near nature and animals. She thoroughly enjoyed spending time outdoors with her dog, Rex, and two ponies, Sandy and Dusky, as well as rescuing and taming numerous wild animals. After her marriage to Tom, they had a couple of cats, a dog named Penny, and a robin named Corky that Donna had rescued.
After graduating from Lostant Community High School in Lostant, Illinois, she attended Masonic Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago receiving her diploma as a registered nurse in 1964. She immediately joined the Army Nurse Corps and was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, and Fort Hood, Texas. She attained the rank of Captain during her three years of active duty. In 1978, she earned bachelor of arts degrees in psychology and in administration of justice from McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois.
Donna had a varied and colorful nursing career in California and as a civil servant at the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Columbus, Ohio. Following retirement, she worked as a security guard at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona, and later was self-employed doing data entry jobs.
Donna always enjoyed reading, hiking, and time with friends and family. She wrote an autobiography entitled “This Country Girl” detailing these experiences. Donna will be remembered by those who love her as kind, caring, giving to others, courageous and adventurous.
It was Donna’s request to be cremated and to have her remains placed with her husband’s in his crypt in Central Texas State Veteran’s Cemetery near Killeen, Texas. Memorial services will be held sometime this summer in Georgetown, Texas. Memorial gifts may be made to The Worship Place in Georgetown, Texas, the Lostant United Methodist Church in Lostant, Illinois, Disabled American Veterans, or a favorite animal shelter.
If you wish to attend her memorial or cemetery services, contact Tim Bays for further details. His address is 827 Park Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, 46616.