|
Service:
There will be a celebration of life at a later date.
Funeral home: Holland Barry & Bennett Funeral
Home
Obituary
David Thomas Donnan,
91, of Lincoln, formerly of Chestnut and Beason,
passed away January 20, 2026, at Memorial Medical
Center.
Cremation rites have been accorded by Holland Barry
& Bennett Funeral Home. There will be a celebration
of life at a later date.
David was born January 26, 1934, in Lincoln, IL, the
son of Lester and Ruth (Gallagher) Donnan. He
married Carol Voorhees in 1954. They had four
children: Laura Allender (James) of Swansea, IL,
Steven Donnan (Jennifer) of Denton, TX, Thomas Lee
Donnan (stillborn), and Susan Joyner (Gary) of
Escondido, CA.
He later married the love of his life Fern Wilkins
Steidinger and the family then included Deanna
Khadem (Kamran) of Bella Vista, AR, Greg Steidinger
of Colorado Springs, CO, and Eric Steidinger (Jim
Robbins) of Willits, CA. Dave and Fern welcomed
twins Michael Donnan (Edwin Kowalski) of Black
Mountain, NC, and Nancy Kuithe (Steve) of Nashville,
TN.
David graduated from Bloomington High School in
1952. He attended the University of Illinois where
he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi Agricultural
Fraternity, and Illinois Wesleyan University where
he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon. David proudly
served his country in the United States Army from
1954 to 1956. He later graduated from Southern
Illinois University at Carbondale with a degree in
agriculture. After graduation, he was a ranch
manager in Eureka, KS before coming back to
Chestnut, IL to farm the family land. He was
extremely proud of the Centennial Family Farm. In
addition to farming, he worked hard to support the
family driving a semi full time. David retired in
1999. He was active in the Logan County Farm Bureau
and Jaycees.
In his retirement, David enjoyed continued
participation in farming as a grain truck driver for
other farmers during harvest. He and Fern toured the
country in their RV and spent time in a south TX
community of retirees where he took up woodworking,
a hobby he continued to enjoy for many years. He
delighted in teaching his grandchildren and great
grandchildren the joys of woodworking and the
fabulous array of tools associated with it. |
David was an avid
reader of local daily news and any periodical
related to farming and animal husbandry. He also
read every title by Louis L’Amour. David enjoyed
movies, especially westerns with John Wayne and
Clint Eastwood and all James Bond films. He stayed
abreast of all current farming trends and closely
monitored each year’s crop progress on weekly drives
throughout Logan County. David also had a virtually
encyclopedic memory of land ownership over decades
in Logan County from careful study of plat books.
Above all, David cherished his family and loved
deeply and without limits.
David is survived by his wife of 58 years, Fern,
children, Laura, Steven, Susan, Michael, and Nancy,
step children Deanna and Eric, 15 grandchildren, 24
great grandchildren, and niece Linda Cooper (Dean).
David was preceded in death by his parents, son
Thomas Lee Donnan, stepson Greg Steidinger, and
sister Norma Caringello and her husband Mike.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made
to St. Jude's Children's Research Center.
Click here to send a note of condolence to the
family of David Thomas Donnan
|
David
Thomas Donnan