DONNA GORDON HANKS

This is from a note sent by Sandra Schepeler Bergquist dated July 19, 2006:

Donna Sue Gordon Hanks graduated from Florida State University. Sandy (Schepeler) Bergquist remembers being startled some early mornings by a tapping at her bedroom window. Who would it be? Donna, who had driven all night from Tallahassee and wanted to catch up on things before driving to her own house !

One of her earliest professional endeavors was being a stewardess. During this time Donna met and married a pilot, Chris. One child, a daughter, Julie, rounded out her family. She later divorced.

Donna studied nursing and worked in the dialysis unit of a Tampa hospital She was a take charge person with a straight - forward manner. Donna's measured decisiveness in business led her to a very important job in a Tampa hospital advising physicians concerning insurance related matters. She saved her employers $100,000 in six months alone!

She invested in several real estate properties in the Tampa area and raised dogs as a hobby.

Though she didn't mince words, her directness was nicely balanced with an unparalleled sense of humor. She sure knew how to laugh at the right time ---even at herself!

Donna experienced early signs of cancer many years before it became a serious threat to her life. Though weak, she was able to accomplish a lifelong dream of traveling to Europe while she was still able to appreciate the experience. Her extraordinary life was cut short on 9/10/97, when she succumbed to breast cancer, after a lengthy bout with this dreaded disease.