With her loving family by her side, Donna Morgan, lifelong Colfax resident, passed away Friday, September 8, 2017 at the Whitman Hospital in Colfax following a brief struggle with pancreatic cancer. She was 80. Viewing will be Wednesday at Bruning Funeral Home from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Funeral Services will be Thursday, September 14th, beginning with a graveside service at 9:30 a.m. at the Bethel Cemetery in Steptoe followed by a memorial service at 11:00 a.m. at the Onecho Bible Church.
Donna Rae Aeschliman was born May 31, 1937 in Colfax to Rupert and Goldie Steffen Aeschliman. She grew up in the Onecho area and attended early grade school years there. Later she attended the Hamilton Grade School in Colfax and graduated from Colfax High School in 1955. During high school she worked and cooked for neighbor farmers earning $4 per day. Donna met her future husband when they played in the pep band together beginning in about the sixth grade. Following high school she attended Whitworth College in Spokane for a year. Donna married John Morgan of Colfax on August 31, 1957. They lived in Pullman for a year while they attended Washington State College, and Donna worked as a secretary for the Edison Elementary School there. After John's graduation they moved to the farm in the Green Hollow area near Colfax. Together they farmed and worked their land for the next 60 years. Donna also kept busy as a homemaker and mother; raising their three children on the ranch. She loved being a homemaker. She was an undaunted seamstress. If it could fit under the sewing machine foot and a needle could go through it she would sew it. She sewed, designed and created wedding dresses, her own, her daughters, and granddaughters. Countless bridesmaid dresses and formals. Donna's ability to perform this delicate task contrasted with the sewing she did on the upholstery in tractors and trucks for the farm. She was truly gifted. The family would go school clothes shopping and instead of buying at The Crescent, Donna would pull out her notepad and draw whatever the kids liked, and then would pick out fabrics and she would go home and sew for them. Her joy was creating for others, for anyone. And by doing it this way she taught her children how to sew, design and create with needle and thread.
She played the trumpet and sang soprano in choir and sang many solos in church. But what might be remembered most is she sang at home, and taught her family through song basic principles in life that have been passed down to grandchildren and her great grandchildren. And one of those little simple songs went like this:


Jesus and Others and You
What a wonderful way to spell JOY
Jesus and Others and You
In the life of each girl and each boy.


J is for Jesus for He has first place
O is for Others we meet face to face.
Y is for You and whatever you do,
Put Jesus first and spell JOY.


Joy was a theme of Donna's life. She found joy in her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She found joy in her family. She found joy in providing for the needs of the community. She found joy in her flower garden.

She also raised a large garden, was a wonderful cook, and tended many beautiful flower beds. She spent many hours following her kids and grandkids in their sporting activities. Donna also taught Sunday School, was an active member of the Onecho Bible Church, a member of the Green Hollow Club, and a member of the Gideon's International. She loved Christmas time and was well-known for her Christmas candy that she would sell. Her grandchildren will fondly remember her root beer floats, ice cream sandwiches, and the infamous gumball machine that was always stocked and ready for them.
In later years, Donna worked at the Wheat & Barley restaurant in Colfax and for a sorority house at WSU in Pullman as a cook. She also drove school bus in Colfax for 15 years and loved driving team trips, and worked in the kitchen and as a teacher's aide in the Colfax Schools. She and John recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary together. Donna is survived by her husband, John, at the family home; three children, Douglas (Jill) Morgan of Colfax, Angie (Grant) Collins of Spangle, and Val (Kevin) Akesson of Steptoe; 16 grandchildren, Willard Morgan, Heidi Morgan, Joel (Jenna) Morgan, Brock (Holly) Morgan, Megan (Denny) White, Andrea (Brad) Demmert, Katelyn Collins, Ross Collins, Anica (David) Guilliams, Phebe, Goldie, Nate, Eric, Karmen, Kirsten and Elise Akesson; 5 great-grandchildren, Elliott and Ksena White, Grace Demmert, Connor and Ashlynn Guilliams; and by her two sisters, Ramona Kretz of Spokane, and Dolora Koehn of Tea, South Dakota; and by a brother, Oliver Aeschliman of Upland, CA. Donna was preceded in death by an infant son, Dale, in 1958, by a sister, Rita Webster, and by her parents. The family suggests memorial gifts be made to Gideon's International, P.O. Box 122, Colfax, WA 99111.