Donna Carr

Donna Jean Carr of Garden Prairie, IL passed away peacefully at home on May 4, 2022 with family members by her side. She was born on August 28, 1938 in Marengo, IL to Anna Dillinder Tornow and Troy Dillinder. She grew up in Union, IL, attended Union Grade School, and graduated from Marengo Community High School in 1956. She married Robert "Bob" Carr on June 15, 1958 at St. John's Lutheran Church in Union, IL and they made their home in Marengo, IL. They spent 2 years living in Killeen, TX while Bob was stationed at the Fort Hood Army base and then returned to IL where they lived in Marengo until 1986 when they moved to Garden Prairie. Donna was a member of the Garden Prairie United Church of Christ where she served as moderator of the church council for one term and was actively involved in the ladies' afternoon circle. After raising her four children (Jim, Robin, Tom, and Dean), Donna attended Kishwaukee College in Malta, IL and earned her Licensed Practical Nursing certificate in August, 1981 and during the course of a 36-year career she worked at Highland Hospital in Belvidere, IL; Florence Nursing Home in Marengo, IL; P.A. Peterson Center for Health in Rockford, IL; and most recently at Morning Star Village also in Rockford, IL. Throughout her career, she especially enjoyed caring for the elderly and building relationships with not only the residents and their families, but also her co-workers.  Donna enjoyed and looked forward to trips to the east coast as well as to AZ to visit family; she coordinated many family gatherings over the years; and she also liked going on fishing trips to WI with her sons. She was an avid Chicago Cubs fan and loved to watch the games on T.V. or listen to them on WGN radio with Pat Hughes and Ron Santo providing the play-by-play commentary. In addition, she enjoyed making and decorating greeting cards; working with flowers; playing trivia and board games; crocheting; and attending monthly luncheons with the Highland Hospital Retiree's Group. Donna is survived by her husband, Bob; her son, Jim (Cindy), of MA; her daughter, Robin, of AZ; her sons, Tom (Lori) and Dean (Cheryl) all of IL; her granddaughter Kendra (Praveen) Chandra and their children (Anand, Veera, and Rohan) of N.J.; her granddaughter Katie (Todd) Rubendall and their daughter, Ellia, of MA; her grandson, Andrew (Amelia Stetler) of PA; her grandchildren, Ryan and Valerie Carr, Nathan Gezzi, Brieanna (Kevin) Gregg, and Ryan's daughter, Addison, all of IL; her special niece, Joan Laue and her sons Christopher (Calli) and Andrew (Kristy) and their families all of WI; her nephew, Mike Schoenholz, also of WI; as well her great-nieces, Linda Murphy and Joni Smith of IL. A memorial service will be held at the Garden Prairie United Church of Christ on Saturday, May 21, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. with Pastor Dina Lauman officiating and preceded by a visitation from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. also at the church. At the conclusion of the service, a luncheon will be provided in the lower level of the church. A private burial service will take place at the McHenry County Memorial Park in Woodstock, IL. The Carr family would like to extend a sincere thank you to Andrew and the OSF Cancer Center staff; Dr. Shaukat; OSF Hospice Care (Gina, mom's nurse); and many special friends and extended family members for their kindness, loving care, and support over these past few months as well as Stateline Cremations for their assistance. Memorials may be directed to the Garden Prairie United Church of Christ, the OSF Cancer Center, or St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.