Donna Marie Morlan

Donna Marie Morlan, 79, of Berthoud, Colo., passed away peacefully on Sunday June 11, 2017. Donna was the youngest of four children born to Doris and Ira Bashaw in Bakersfield, Calif., on Aug. 16, 1937. She was preceded in death by her late husband of 61 years, Jerry Morlan, who passed away on Feb. 18, 2017.

Donna is survived by a sister and two brothers, three daughters; Penny Morlan of Austin, Texas, Laurie Levendusky of Loveland, Colo., and Cynthia (CJ) Berry of Berthoud, Colo.; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Jerry and Donna moved to the Berthoud and Loveland area over 30 years ago, after Jerry retired from a great career working with the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 3, the largest construction trades local in the United States. Jerry’s construction work allowed Donna and her family to travel across most of the western U.S., live in many interesting places, and work on several important and impressive construction projects, all while raising three wonderful daughters. For a time, while Jerry was operating heavy equipment, Donna worked for Bechtel as an office manager at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. Donna really enjoyed the places they went and the people they met, but her favorite stories were of her youth and the adventures she and her siblings had as they were growing up in a rural area of the Feather River Canyon in Northern California. One story in particular was when she and her brothers found a den of baby snakes (fortunately, not poisonous) they decided to weave into trouser belts. They enjoyed playing all morning with the snakes, but when the kids went in for lunch, they laid their “snake belts” on the ground. When they came back out to play, the snakes were gone. She always laughed about it. Her sister hates snakes to this day, and did not participate in this particular adventure. Donna laughed about that too.

In more recent years Donna and Jerry would fish, camp, and four-wheel in the mountains of Colorado and Utah, always with close family and friends by their side. When they weren’t doing that, they were helping friends with projects or visiting with people at the Berthoud Community Center.

A small private celebration of Donna’s life will be planned on a later date. The family would prefer donations be made in her memory to the American Cancer Society. To donate, go to www.cancer.org and follow the online donation instructions or mail your tax-deductible donation to:

American Cancer Society

PO Box 22478

Oklahoma City, OK  73123