Dona M. Pfaff, 1932 – 2022
Maureen Kimberlin
Dona was born in Wilmar, MN on February 24, 1932. She has gone on to be with her three beloved sons, Richard, Derrick and Jason. She is survived by her brothers Harvey, Elton and Keith, her sister Joyce, granddaughters Kimberlyn and Shari, and great grandson Vincent and many nieces and nephews.
Dona was a true Alaska Pioneer woman. She moved to Alaska in 1954, and worked for Alaska Coachways delivering mail, tourists and freight to the Canadian border twice a week and making one trip a week to Valdez. In 1955, she worked at the Copper Center Lodge.
Dona was married and lived in Fairbanks for many years and was active in the Republican party. She was so proud to be invited to President Reagan’s inaugural ball. She was a delegate for Kenny Lake at the District 17 Republican Caucus in 1990 and was nominated as a delegate to the state Republican Convention in Juneau.
In 1992 Dona was invited to become a Life Member in the Republican Presidential Task Force by President George H.W. Bush. She was also a member of the Pythian Sisters.
Dona moved to Anchorage and worked for RCA and the Anchorage Telephone Utility until she retired and moved to her home in Kenny Lake.
Dona won her patent homesite in the Kenny Lake subdivision in 1982. She spent many months driving to Copper Center from Anchorage with her car full of building materials and lumber tied to the top.
With lots of help from friends and family she built her “home in the woods.” She loved Alaska and there was no way she would live anywhere else.
Dona traveled to Minnesota in the summer for several years to her farm in Detroit Lakes where she would work her farm. One summer, she went to an auction and bought three very young calves only to find out that she had to bottle feed them, something she had never done before. Luckily for the calves, they all thrived under her care. She later sold the farm and retired permanently in Alaska. She enjoyed her rustic life in Kenny Lake for over 30 years.
Although Dona loved to dress in expensive furs and jewelry, and only drove Cadillacs or Lincoln Continentals, she was also down to earth and practical, and persevered through many hardships and personal tragedies throughout her 90 years. Dona was a tiny woman but she had an indomitable spirit!
She loved her little cabin on the bluff and the peace and quiet that came with it. Dona really liked the cold, and never complained about winter, no matter if it was 50 below! An expert at building a fire in her wood stove, she always liked to have at least four cords of wood stacked outside and covered with a tarp before the first snow came: true happiness for a true Alaskan!
Dona had a soft spot for animals, especially stray cats, and she adopted several of them throughout the years. She loved watching the birds and squirrels from her dining room window and made sure that they were all well fed and cared for. She was an avid reader and map collector and enjoyed reading about Alaska’s history, watching documentaries and the evening news.
Dona had a great sense of humor and loved a good laugh, especially Brad’s corny jokes.
She attended church at Mt. View Baptist and enjoyed the company of her friends there.
Although her health was declining in her later years, with the help of her dear friends in Kenny Lake and the love and encouragement from her family in the Lower 48 with calls and visits and cards and gifts, she was able to live out the last few years at home where she wanted to be, in her little cabin on the bluff, in her beloved Alaska.
Dona celebrated her 90th birthday in February, and said that she knew she was going to Heaven because she “believed in Jesus Christ” and that He was her Savior! That was truly Good News!
We will always miss Dona, here in Kenny Lake, here in our neighborhood. She was truly one of a kind, and we hope to see her again someday. Until then, she will be lovingly in our thoughts and always in our hearts. Bye now, Dona.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
And he that sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ Revelation 21:4-5
