Donna Marlene Williams, 87, of Atascadero/Paso Robles, passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 18, 2023, at the San Luis Obispo Post-Acute Center.
Born on January 11, 1935, to Ethel and Charles Jones in Dayton, Ohio, she was the fifth of six children. After graduating from Fairmont High School, she worked for Ohio Bell to help pay for her continuing education at the local college. She transferred to the Oregon Business College, where she met John Williams. They married in 1957. After John graduated college, he worked with San Luis Obispo County as Agriculture Commissioner, and they settled in Atascadero. They built their home on Alamo Road and moved in on their first daughter’s second birthday. Mom was a stay-at-home mom raising their three daughters. After their divorce, over the years, mom had several jobs to support the girls – waitress, telephone operator, newspaper ad copywriter, house cleaning business, shoe sales, and eventually, shoe store. She also loved gardening. She was a member of the Bel Canto Singers and the Pioneer Players. She served on the Atascadero Unified School District Board of Trustees for several years. She was a member of the Memorial Church, which later became the Atascadero Bible Church (ABC), for 65 years.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Ethel and Charles Jones, sister Charlene Branham and Paula Aydelotte, and brothers, Robert & Dale Jones. She is survived by her sister Wanda McGinnis & brother Joe Jones. She is also survived by her daughters Debbie (Butch) Baker of Beatty, Nevada, Denise (Dale) Stanley of Paso Robles, and Donene Williams (Michael Anderson) of Somerville, Massachusetts, five grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
A special thanks to the SLO Post-Acute Center doctors and staff for the care given to the mom during her stay.
A celebration of life will be scheduled at a future date.
