Donna Olivia Walton was born on March 17, 1959 in Los Angeles, California. She was the middle child of Mary Dean Blair and the late Oliver Lowell Blair. Donna was preceded in death by her sister, Valerie Lynn Blair. Donna accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior and was baptized in 1971 at the Second Baptist Church, San Antonio, Texas by the late Reverend S. H. James. Donna later joined Greater Mt. Zion Church, Austin, Texas under the leadership of the Reverend Gaylon Clark.
In 1977, Donna graduated from Sam Houston High School in San Antonio, where she participated in the band and journalism. While in high school, she attended Dorothy Keck School for Gymnastics. Upon graduation, Donna attended the University of Texas at Austin and worked at USAA during the summers and after leaving college.
Donna enjoyed living in Austin. She accepted a position at the IRS, where she met her lifelong best friend, Cynthia K. White. She was blessed to receive another job at the U.S. Postal Service, where she met her soul mate, Ronnie Walton, and many close friends.
In 1989, her first son, Brandon Dean Blair was born. On Brandon’s first Christmas, Donna requested a Nintendo for her gift and since then, she and Brandon loved to play video games. In 1999, Donna married Ronnie Walton and to this union, Ryan Blair Walton was born. She loved to watch Ryan play sports, including football, basketball, and track and field.
After twenty-five years of loyal service, Donna retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 2009. She went back to college and received an Associate Degree in Communications in 2011 from Austin Community College. Although Donna would often say, “Happy Retirement” she was looking forward to a career in education. She was a substitute teacher and was preparing for an interview as a teaching assistant.
Donna loved reading and writing. She wrote about her favorite singer, Jeffrey Osborn, submitted it to Ebony magazine and it was published. She loved traveling, but most of all, Donna loved being with family and friends. She could remember birthdays and tidbits of information about everyone she knew. Donna will be forever loved and missed. Everyone who knew her said her presence in their lives was a blessing.
Leaving to cherish her memories are Ronnie, Brandon and Ryan; stepdaughter, Antoinette and her beautiful children, Ava and Byron; her godchildren; her mother; her sisters, Deane Arlea Blair, Nancy Kaye (Calvin) Douglas; brother, Oliver Lowell Blair II of San Antonio; brothers-in-law, Morris (Avis) Walton of San Antonio and Bruce Walton of Austin; sister-in-law, Elaine McKinney of Austin; her aunt, Hazel Mae Blair of Los Angeles; her uncles, James Sanders and Ira Sanders of Corpus Christi; her close cousin, Madeline (Lonnie) Ferrell of Los Angeles and a host of family and friends.
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