Donna Mae Thorsen, 89, of Sun Lakes, Arizona, died on Friday, October 21, 2022 in Westminster, Colorado with her ever-faithful husband and family by her side. Funeral services will be held for family and friends at 10:00 a.m. December 5 at Saint Stevens Catholic Church in Sun Lakes. For those unable to attend, the funeral will also be live streamed. A celebration of Donna’s life will be held following the service. For those in attendance, please help brighten the day like Donna and wear HER color – red!

 

Donna was born in Clontarf, Minnesota on May 29, 1933 to Joseph and Lorena Eve - one of 10 children. Her family moved often with her father’s job as a band director, accepted new positions throughout her childhood, allowing Donna and her family the opportunity to live throughout Montana before ultimately settling in Poplar. Here, Donna was an active member of the band, playing percussions and piano, worked at the department store in her spare time, and met her future husband.

 

Donna married Robert Thorsen on September 15, 1951. Together they have 10 children, who were always her pride and joy. Robert says Donna was absolutely the best wife and mother anyone could hope for. While there is no doubt her favorite job was being a wife and mother, she also sold real estate when the children were older, winning many awards and accolades as a top seller. Those who worked alongside her in real estate teased they were going to canvas her trash for leads and top secrets because she was such a great realtor and looked up to by so many in the office.

 

Donna was elegant, loved a great cup of coffee, and never missed a day getting dressed and dolled up. When she was young, Donna asked her mom what her “color” was since everyone had a color they looked best in. She cried when her mother told her pink, upsetting her to no end because she thought her color should be red! And never would you catch a boring time with Donna because she prided herself in making fun out of the simple things and making any dull moment much brighter.

 

You could often catch Donna singing, and she always whistled while she worked. She was devout in her Catholic faith, witty, and loved her family more than anything. Not only was she a patient mother to 10, but she was a cherished grandmother to 20, and a wonderful great-grandmother to 19. Her grands adored being around her and love the memories of joining her for an open house, stopping for garage sales and baking with her during the holidays, especially her famous rolls, but not to exclude her other specialties: yum-yum bars, fudge, and chicken and dumplings. 

 

Family was her everything, and so many will tell you Donna was the role model who instilled the importance of family, the time spent with them, and the value of marriage and being a good partner in life, no matter the season – something only 71 years of marriage would know. Her best marriage advice for anyone: pick the right guy! And indeed, she did.

 

Donna is survived by her husband of 71 years, Robert; nine of her children, Larry (Beth) of Conrad, Mont.; Dave (Patsy) of Helena, Mont.; Tom (Sue) of Sun Lakes, Ariz.; Dan (Kathy) of Jacksonville, Texas; Patrice of Amarillo, Texas; Jim (Carmela) of Castle Pines, Colo.; Steve (Michelle) of Northglenn, Colo.; Peggy (Kevin) of Westminster, Colo.; Charles of Denver, Colo.; and her very prideful flock of 20 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

 

She is also survived by her brother Jean (Mary Ellen) of Great Falls, Mont.; Paul (Rosie) Eve of Sun Lakes, Ariz; Allen (Norma) of Casa Grande, Ariz.; Robert (Jane) of Sun City West, Ariz.; Phillip (Lonnie) of Great Falls, Mont.; as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins.

 

She was preceded in death by her son, Bobby Thorsen; sisters, Joan (Leo) Kimmet; Margo (Larry) Krien; Eileen (Dan) Welch; and brother Edward (Terri) Eve. 

Live Stream Service available on Monday, December 5th, 2022 at 9:55am at https://venue.streamspot.com/event/MzU1Njk3NA==
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