Washington - Donna Marie was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Donald Burton Deforest and Mary Alice Deforest on August 5, 1940. She was the oldest of their 5 daughters. Her sisters were Joann Elizabeth, Mary Catherine, Patrice Ann and Lisa Jane.

The family moved to Phoenix in 1953 for her father's health. Donna met her future husband, Robert Clifford, at a high school dance in 1955. They graduated in 1957 and were married on January 10,1959, and had a wonderful marriage for 66 years and 10 months.

Together, they had 5 children. Michael (Karen), James (Kim), Susan (Greg), Colleen (Bogdan), Paul (Erica) and 10 grandchildren. They are Sophia (Brad), Madeleine, Aaron, Kyle, Karisa (Alex), Nicholas, Jacob, Maria, Hugh and Henry. Four great grandchildren, Hazel, Daphne, Halle and Royce.

Donna's lifelong ambition was always to become a nurse, and when Paul started to school, so did she, graduating from the University of Washington in 1979 with her BS in Nursing. That began a rewarding career in Labor and Delivery starting at Providence Hospital. She also worked at Group Health and Swedish Hospitals. In about 2000, she left active L&D and began to focus on childbirth education, developing a childbirth education program for the benefit of members of several unions. She worked in various other related obstetric administrative positions, eventually retiring from the University of Washington in 2010.

Donna was an active member of St James Cathedral. She was in the Solanus Casey ministry, an outreach for the homeless and a founding member of the Mental Health Ministry. Under the auspices of the Cathedral, she traveled to Hopital Sacre Coeur in Milot, Haiti in 2010 after the devastating earthquake to provide nursing assistance, training and support.

In 2014, Donna became an Associate of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace and made her final and lasting vow in 2024. At that time she said " Living out the CSJP charism of peace has been an extraordinary experience. The Community sent me to Calais, France for a month as a registered nurse to meet and work with Mid-Eastern refugees. That was a transformative experience." She loved the grace and unconditional love of the community.

She is preceded in death by her parents and her sisters, Joann and Patrice, but survived by her loving husband Robert, her children and grandchildren. She felt blest to see them all grow into productive adulthood. She loved those kids! The great grandkids were a special joy.

There will be a Requiem Mass at St James Cathedral on December 15th at 12 noon. Internment will be later in the Spring.

Any remembrance, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace in Bellevue, Washington.

We are all walking each other home. And Donna is home.

Eternal rest grant unto her O loving God, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace.