Donna Odella Pierce

Donna O. Pierce, 84, of Pocatello, passed away in Meridian, Idaho, on December 24, 2020. Donna was born in Idaho Falls on April 20, 1936 to Ivan and Cora Johnson. She was the sixth of eight children. Her father had four children with his first wife who died from complications from child birth.

Donna attended elementary school and high school in Pocatello. She married her first husband, Paul Barrus, April 18, 1952, just two days shy of her sixteenth birthday. They were married twenty years and had four children, Raymond, Teresa, Leslie, and David.

She later met and married Frank Pierce on June 29, 1973. They were later sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple. They were married forty two years until he passed away in November 2015.

Frank and Donna enjoyed camping and fishing with her family. They made many trips with their trailer. The grandchildren enjoyed the trips also.

Donna enjoyed gardening and growing her own fruits and vegetables and canning them for later use. She was also very good at growing house plants. At times inside her home was like a jungle there were so many plants. Every avocado pit went in a cup of water to start a plant. And every broken branch from a plant was put in water to start another plant. Her kitchen windowsill was usually full of new plants.

The thing that Donna loved most was mothering. She started babysitting at a very young age and continued to take care of kids her whole life. She took care of her own kids, other people's kids, grandkids, and great grandkids. She also loved baby animals of any kind. She loved them all. She always had cats and dogs and usually ducks. She would raise puppies and kittens and sell them. She also had ferrets for a while.

Donna was preceded in death by her parents, Ivan and Cora Johnson, her siblings Genevieve, Laverle, Neola and Ivan, her brother Monte (Gloria) Johnson, her former husband Paul Barrus, her husband Frank Pierce, her daughter Leslie English and son-in-law Wayne English, daughter-in-law Claudette Barrus, her grandchildren Vanessa Lake, Michael Barrus, and Patricia Barrus. She is survived by her sisters Ivy Howell and Loraine (Sidney) Smith, her children Raymond (Geri) Barrus, Teresa (Doug) Sterr, and David Barrus, 15 grandchildren and 47 great grandchildren.

A private family service will be held at Wilks Funeral Home on Monday January 4th, 2021. Burial to follow at Restlawn Memorial Gardens.

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