Donna Bowie Olson Clark Obituary (1938

Donna peacefully passed way in Wenatchee, Washington on Thursday August 4, 2022. Her daughter Kris and husband Dave were by her side. She died from pneumonia as a complication from Leukemia. A graveside service for family is planned with a memorial yet to be determined. Donna was born to George and Ombra Bowie in Rochester, New York August 10, 1938. From the very beginning Donna had to be strong since she lost her mother shortly after her birth. She remembers her first 8 years as happy times spent with her father and grandmother. Then suddenly, at age 8, she was orphaned when her father died as a result of being hit by a drunk driver. Fortunately Donnas older sister Ombra was able to step in and became her legal guardian. This was a very confusing time for her - she vaguely remembers this time and only faintly recalled the circumstances prior to joining her sister and brother-in-law. As career military, her new family criss-crossed the US from New Jersey to Washington (State) to Georgia to California to Washington DC and back to Washington (State). She even lived in Hawaii and Japan and attended so many schools she couldnt remember if it was 17, 18 or even more. Because of all these different places, though, she developed skills and techniques to adjust to each new situation that served her throughout her life. Donna made Washington her home after returning from Japan. She graduated from North Thurston High School in 1956. Following high school she worked a year before enrolling in Centralia Junior College earning an associates degree. It was here that Donna made many of her life long friends and found her first love, Vern Olson. They married in 1959 and Donna went to work for the State of Washington while Vern earned his bachelors degree. Daughter Kris came along in June 1962. The family moved to Seattle and by the 70s they were settled in their Kenmore home. It was in Kenmore that Donnas passion for plants and flowers grew. Her flower beds inspired her neighbors and in turn inspired her to improve her gardening skills. In 1970 Donna began working in the Trust Division of National Bank of Commerce, moving on to be adminisative assistant to Ken Clark in the Corporate Secretarys Office. She remained with this department, reaching the level of Executive Secretary/Adm. Assistant to the Corporate Secretary, and continued through the transitions of the NBofC name change to Rainier Bank, the Security Pacific merger and the final merger with Sea-First/BofA in 1992. With this last merger her services werent required by BofA. But her skills were still valuable and she moved on to the American Bankers Association, finally retiring from "banking" in 2003. Her beloved husband, Vern suddenly passed away November 1999. Again, Donnas resilience rose to the surface. Where Vern did the yard work and made repairs to the house, Donna was now in charge of not only her flowers but everything else, including a new waterline to the house, replacing an aging deck, re-landscaping a quarter acre lot, etc, etc. Not only did she acquire new skills but she applied them effectively. In between she was able to make a couple of trips to Hawaii (one with Kris) and a Caribbean cruise. Although Donna wasnt planning on another merger, she met Dave (Clark) at an NBC/RNB retirees luncheon in 2005. They dated for a few years and married in 2010. As with every merger, they found that they now had at least two of almost everything and set about downsizing through garage sales, Craigs List, donations, dump runs and sending things off to the kids. In between they traveled, including a multi-week cross country RV trip to Donnas home town of Rochester (she hadnt been back since the 50s), a couple of class reunions (Billings and Lacey), Colorado to see Daves grandchildren (now her own grandchildren, too), Arizona to visit RNB colleagues, Alaska for an Olson family reunion along with various other RV trips around Washington, Oregon and California. When not traveling they worked in the yard. Donna particularly enjoyed planting shrubs and flowers around the yard, then had Dave dig them up and move them to another spot (she moved plants like some people move furniture). One summer they built a really nice patio in the lower yard and converted a gravel walk to rough aggregate. Dave mixed the concrete Donna got on her hands and knees to spread it out. In 2019 Donna and Dave moved to Wenatchee to be closer to her family. They found a nice single level home that suited their lifestyle, and gave Donna places for a garden and flower beds. Covid upset most of their travel plans although last year she and Dave travelled to Michigan to see their grandchildren. Donna is survived by her husband Dave and her Daughter Kris (Erick) as well as her step sons and their families. She leaves behind many cousins on the east coast, many of whom she only recently met. And she leaves behind many close friends whom she dearly loved and appreciated. Donna always made friends wherever she went. She will be missed by all.