Donna J. Jesch

Donna J. Jesch

July 18, 1926 - Nov. 17, 2020

STRATTON, Neb. - Donna Jeanne Jesch of Stratton, Neb., passed away at the Country House in Kearney, Neb. on November 17, 2020.

Donna wrote her autobiography and we will put a few quotes from that in this obituary.

“First of all I was born. That happened in July of 1926. The 18th to be exact. Now isn’t that interesting? OK, so that’s no big deal. How about this! I was born on Daddy’s 33rd birthday. I don’t remember much about that because I was pretty young at that time.”

Mother always did have a sense of humor.

Donna was born to Clarence and Ora (Miles) Richards on a farm northeast of Stratton. She was the 3rd of 7 sisters. They moved to Stratton at a young age, where they built a new house in 1931. This two-bedroom house was home to a family of 9.

“Yes we were raised during the great depression and I suppose we were poor, but I didn’t know that at the time. Our bathtub was a portable one. It was brought out and placed on the kitchen floor after supper. We girls probably washed in the same water! We were clean enough.”

Donna attended Stratton High School where she graduated in 1943. Bud Jesch and Donna were cast opposite each other in the junior class play. That’s when the spark was lit. Donna and Bud were in the same class and graduated together.

Donna worked at the Farmers Grocery Store during high school and then traveled to Denver after high school where she worked as a secretary for Blue Cross and Blue Shield Insurance Company. She also worked for the Hitchcock County Attorney in Trenton for ten years after she was married.

On December 28, 1946 she married Eugene “Bud” Jesch at the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, Colorado. She and Bud raised five children on the farm east of Stratton. In 1978 they built a new home in Stratton and moved to the big city.

Donna enjoyed gardening and baking. She was famous for her pumpkin bars and crescent rolls which she made for every holiday gathering. That tradition is carried on by her grandchildren. She also researched family genealogy and was instrumental in the research and production of the Hitchcock County History Book 1873-1989. Donna was the secretary and treasurer of the Fanshaw Bay Naval Reunions.

Bud and Donna traveled to many cities for the Fanshaw Bay Reunions from the mid 1980s until 2019. Donna was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church. She was also involved in the St Joseph’s Alter Society, the ladies V.F.W. Auxiliary, the church choir, and other choir productions in Stratton. She sang acapella with her sisters and was always singing around the house to classical music. She had a beautiful voice.

Donna is preceded in death by her parents Clarence and Ora Richards and her father and mother- in -law, August and Eleanor Jesch, husbands-Eugene “Bud”- 2 grandsons-Travis Jesch and Patrick Valdez, 3 sisters and their husbands, Shirley and Neal Hudson, Vivian and Richard Pierce, Wilva and Gene Harchelroad and 2 brothers-in-law Bill Carroll and Keith Birks.

Donna is survived by 5 children: Vicki Brown of North Platte, Geoffrey Jesch of North Platte, Douglas (Deb) Jesch of Kearney, Nebraska, Monica (Paul) Valdez of Parker, Colorado, Bradley (Tami Jo) Jesch of Stratton, 14 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren, 3 sisters: Eula Carroll of Hutchison, Kansas, Dorothy Birks of Hull, Iowa ,and Beverly (Neil) Dailey of Las Cruses, New Mexico, 2 brothers-in-law, Ramon Jesch of Boulder, Colorado and Gilbert Jesch of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held at the Herrmann Jones Funeral Chapel in Trenton on Monday, November 23, 2020 from 10:00am till 6:00pm.

Private family Rosary and Mass of Christian Burial will be at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Stratton, Nebraska on Tuesday, November 24, 2020 with Father Matthew Eickoff presiding. Graveside services will follow at 2:30pm central time at Rose Hill Cemetery. Friends and family are welcome. We are asking everyone to be mindful of local health guidelines (mask wearing and social distancing).

Memorials may be left to St. Joseph’s Altar Society, the Stratton Ambulance and Fire Department District, or in Donna’s name. Friends may leave on-line condolences at herrmannfh.com. Herrmann Jones Funeral Chapel entrusted with arrangements.