Donna Jean Holman, 88, of Keokuk, passed away on Friday, November 3, 2023, at Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House in West Burlington, Iowa.
Donna was the daughter of Chris and Edna (Flanders) Meierotto. She was born on May 25, 1935, in Hillsboro, Iowa. She attended Hickory Grove, a one-room schoolhouse, and graduated from Keokuk High School in 1954. Donna attended Keokuk Community College and took some night classes. She worked for Keokuk Electro Metals Co. as a plant receptionist and for Rovane Dental Supply Co.
Donna married Bill Benson on September 15, 1956. She had two daughters: Mary Anne (Lynn) Bretz of Nipomo, California, and Annette (Ed) Peevler of Keokuk, and three sons: Joseph Benson, Peter (Amy) Benson and Andrew (Heidi) Benson, all of Keokuk. Donna miscarried one pre-born child.
Bill Benson died on July 16, 2000. Donna married Daniel Edward Holman in Wisconsin on October 6, 2002. They founded Missionaries to the Preborn Iowa and are known for their displays with graphic pictures of babies killed by aborticide.
Together they have seventeen grandchildren: Jordyn (Austin) Boyer, Logan Benson, Rachel (Jacob) Byrne, Philip Bretz, Will and Jasmine Benson, Haley (Tyler) Bryant, Madison and Annabel Benson, and Conrad Steven Kirchner. Her stepchildren are Lori and Daryl Kinton, Jesse (Dana) Holman and Lisa (John) Krall. Step-grandchildren are Lily and Sequoia Holman, Jaelyn and Kyli Kinton, and Ave Jaxson and Beckett Krall.
Also surviving are her siblings: her brother Dennis (Carol) Meierotto of Kansas City, Missouri; and five sisters: Pat (Ray) Miller of Jefferson City, Missouri, Rosemary Fritzjunker (Fred Ahr) of West Des Moines, Iowa, Karen Druker of Los Altos Hills, California, Judi (Chris) Honore’ of Ashland, Oregon, and Peg (Bill) Sweeney of The Villages, Florida. Her brother Paul James was stillborn.
Donna was a stay-at-home mom, had a large garden, and canned the vegetables from the garden and fruits from fruit trees in her backyard. She enjoyed cooking and was a gourmet cook. She enjoyed writing letters to the editor, and many of her letters were printed in Iowa newspapers. Later in life, she worked for Highlyn Apartments cleaning, painting and washing windows when someone moved out.
Funeral services will be held at 12 pm (Noon) on Monday, November 13, 2023, at DeJong-Greaves-Printy Funeral Home in Keokuk, with burial to follow at Sandusky Cemetery in Sandusky, Iowa. Visitation will be held at the funeral home from 10 am to 12 pm (Noon) on Monday, November 13, directly before the service.
Memorials may be directed to the Keokuk Public Library, Southeast Iowa Regional Hospice House, and Bel Air Baptist Church.
Tributes and condolences may be left at www.dejongsfuneralhome.com.
DeJong-Greaves-Printy Funeral Home of Keokuk is in charge of arrangements.
