Donna Deering
DONNA DEERING, daughter of IVAH CLEONA EVERETT and TAM DEERING, was born February 16, 1920 in Seattle, King, Washington,9112 and died December 20, 2014 in Oakland, Alameda, California.9112
Education
- Donna Deering graduated from Withrow High School, Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, 1937.10461
Obituaries
Donna Deering DeNeeve
Feb 16, 1920 - Dec 20, 2014
Born Donna Deering in Seattle, Washington to Tam and Ivah Deering; passed on in Oakland, California.
Played violin from age 5, she graduated from Withrow HS in Cincinnati, pursued her study of music at Antioch College, Manhattan School of Music, Yale Univ, Mills College, and UC Berkeley (BA).
Donna married Lt. Edward Hetzel Schafer, Jr, in 1942 (d.1991) and settled in Berkeley, CA where she raised their three children and filled their home with music. In 1970, after earning her MFA in music from Humboldt State Univ, she relocated to Hawaii, where she married Joseph P. "Joop" DeNeeve in 1973 (d.1979).
Survived by her children, Tamlyn Bright of Berkeley, CA, Julian Everett Schafer (Nora) of Montara, CA, and Kevin Deering Schafer (Martha) of Seattle, WA, 7 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.
In the DeNeeve family, she was predeceased by Joseph Pieter and Timothy, and survived by Philip (Pleasant Hill, CA), Christopher (Selden, NY), and John DeNeeve (Kalispell, MT) and Janie Chang (Vancouver, WA), 17 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.
Detesting confinement and possessed of an adventurous, creative and restless spirit, she left no path untraveled, no stone unturned, was chronically over-booked and happily took others along for the ride.
She explored most of the fine arts and nature's wonders: museums, and cathedrals, continents and islands, volcanoes and oceans, above and below. Her family camping and hiking trips became legendary.
Donna taught violin and viola, organized other professional musicians to play in countless string quartets and other informal ensembles. She played in the Richmond (California) and Honolulu Symphonies, and was a 56-year member of the Berkeley Piano Club.
She taught preschool, performed and organized public acting classes in a local repertory theater and developed a music therapy program for skilled nursing patients.
She derived much pleasure observing the progress and development of her violin and viola students, enjoyed reading histories and travel books, swimming, sailing, SCUBA-diving, painting, puppeteering, attending and critiquing plays, concerts, operas and ballets, many arts and crafts, cooking and played competitive Scrabble with friends and family.
She drew her last breath while listening to her favorite Christmas music, Britten's Ceremony of Carols, and died peacefully in her bed at sunset on the eve of the 2014 winter solstice.
Dear mother, you were a unique and energetic force of nature and your family and friends miss you.
Our thanks go out to Selina Boles, her devoted personal assistant, and to the Skilled Nursing Unit staff at Saint Paul's Towers for their attentive care for her comfort during her final stage of life.
The family will celebrate her life at a future date.4717
Census Records
| Date | Location | Enumerated Names |
|---|---|---|
| April 15, 19302842 | San Diego, San Diego, California |
|
| April 16, 19402553 | Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio |
|
