Donna Marie Koehler

Donna M. Koehler, 98, a resident of Washington, Iowa for most of her life, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, June 30, in Chaska, Minnesota. She had recently moved there to be closer to her family.

Donna Marie Sellers, the daughter of Juanita Marie Larkin Sellers and Jay Edward Sellers, was born on June 24, 1927 (her mother’s birthday!) on her parents’ farm in Louisa County, Iowa. She attended Oakland Country School and Wapello High School, where she played the French horn in band and orchestra. After high school graduation, she attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, majoring in business and minoring in music and media production. She graduated from Stephens with an Associate of Arts degree in 1946. She was a loyal supporter of Stephens throughout the rest of her life, and frequently attended class reunions.

Donna’s parents moved to Washington during the spring of her first year at Stephens, and she joined them there after graduation. She started working as a legal secretary at what was, for many years, the law firm of Morrison, Morrison, and Lloyd. She was at work there when she met her future husband, Robert Julius Koehler. They were married on November 12, 1949.

Donna and Bob traveled extensively, making trips to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, where they had honeymooned. They also visited many other places in the American West, including most of the national parks, and Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle, and surrounding areas. After taking a car ferry, on a whim, from Michigan to Wisconsin, they discovered Door County, Wisconsin, in the mid-1960s. They would go on to vacation there many times. They visited Hawaii several times, traveled around Canada from coast to coast, and visited Majorca, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean. Later, they made trips to Ireland, Germany, other parts of Europe, and went on cruises that took them to Alaska and through the Panama Canal.

Closer to home, Donna and Bob were devoted Hawkeye fans. Often with friends, they attended many football and basketball games (including a couple of “ill-fated” trips to the Rose Bowl in 1982 and 1986). More recently, and despite initially feeling that “women’s college basketball isn’t vey exciting,” Donna became a big fan of the Iowa women’s team. (How could she not?)

When Bob retired and Donna was nearing retirement, they decided to spend their summers in Door County, Wisconsin, establishing a second home there in 1985. Soon after, and lured by their love of Big Band music, they started volunteering at Birch Creek Music Performance Center. Birch Creek’s primary mission is to conduct summer camps for talented high school kids, allowing them to learn from prominent music teachers and other professional musicians.

Donna and Bob were passionate about Birch Creek, serving in many ways – helping to register the students (Donna), doing grounds maintenance and running the popcorn concession at concerts (Bob), and fundraising, serving on the Board of Trustees, and as members of Birch Creek Associates, an auxiliary group that supports Birch Creek (both). In their 30+ years in retirement, and probably without really intending to do so, Donna and Bob built second careers at Birch Creek.

Donna was initiated into the P.E.O. Sisterhood in 1960, becoming a charter member of Chapter OC in Washington, Iowa. She remained a devoted and enthusiastic member throughout the rest of her life.

Donna was a wonderful, and much loved, daughter, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Before Bob passed away in 2021, they had celebrated 71 years of marriage. She and Bob loved spending time with their son Brad and his family. She had a great sense of humor and despite losing her hearing later in life, she was always cheerful and up-beat. She and Bob, who had lost most of his vision, used to joke that together, they “made a complete person.” In fact, they were both very complete people, and showed that you do not need to let your disabilities define you.

Donna was preceded in death by her parents Jay and Juanita, her husband Bob, and her niece Marsha. She is survived by her son, Bradley (wife Mary), her grandchildren Shannon (husband Christopher) and Patrick (partner Christina), and her great grandchildren Owen and Asher. She is also survived by her niece Rosemary (husband Vic), her nephews Michael (wife MaryLou), Craig (wife Rachael), and David (wife Barbara), her dear friend Carla Carter, and her kitty Annika.

Funeral Services have been set for 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at Beatty Funeral Home, with Pastor Andrew Zuehlke officiating. The service will be livestreamed on the Beatty-Peterseim funeral home Facebook page or YouTube channel. Burial will follow at the Elm Grove Cemetery. Family visitation will be from 4-6:00 PM, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at the Beatty Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to Birch Creek Performance Center, Egg Harbor, WI, to P.E.O., to Washington United Methodist Church, or to Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri.