Donna Whitney

Donna Mae Whitney, age 87, passed away peacefully in Cedar City, Utah, due to injuries sustained in a fall, on Wednesday January 7, 2026. Born June 1, 1938 to Jay & Vera (Coulam) Bone in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Donna was the oldest of 9 children born to Jay & Vera. She grew up in Salt Lake City and loved to tap dance, do ballet and gymnastics. She graduated from the University of Utah in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She was passionate about teaching and helping children be excited to learn. She taught first and second grade for 3 1/2 years from 1960-1963 at Whitesides Elementary School in Layton, Utah. She married John Witzel in 1963 and from this union she became the mother of six children. They divorced in 1990 and she moved to Southern Utah and lived in Laverkin, and Apple Valley, Utah as well as near Fredonia, Arizona. Donna married John Whitney in 1997 and they bought 20 acres of land in the Coral Mountains near the Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park in Southern Utah and made a lovely homestead. She went on to host Fairy Fairs on her property and made lovely gardens that piqued all the senses. Eventually she and John Whitney divorced and she came to live a couple years in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her son Wayne and his wife. She has lived in Cedar City near her daughter Karen since the fall of 2021.

Donna was artistically creative and talented and designed, sewed, and sold beautiful barbie doll clothes, was an award winning porcelain doll creator and teacher. She taught her children to be entrepreneurs creating and selling stuffed santas and homemade suckers of various flavors she would have the whole family pitching in. Donna had a thirst for knowledge and was especially interested in learning various healing techniques and practiced Therapeutic Touch, was a certified astrologist, and co-created flower essences which she states the fairies told her which flowers to add to help for various physical and spiritual healing.

Donna touched the lives of many and her home became the center where many would gather together and grow. She enriched all of our lives with the things she would teach us and the people she would connect together. It is through her that many of us have developed lifelong friendships.

She was preceded in death by her brother Richard Bone and her grandson Brian Ware. She is survived by her daughters, Barbara (Barry) Howell, Karen (Jerry) Whittemore, Patricia (Dave) Ware and her sons, Kenneth (Diane) Witzel, Wayne (Sarah) Witzel, Scott Witzel; 12 grandchildren, Kurt Whittemore, Nathan Howell, Melissa Marsh, Joshua Ware, Olivia Ware, Christian Ware, Jason Ware, Maddie Nelson, Jonathan Witzel, Micah Witzel, Alex Witzel, Annya Witzel and 6 great grandchildren. She is also survived by seven siblings, Claudia (Robert) Fisher, JoAnne (Dale) Rydman, Frank Bone, Veralynn (Orson) Brown, Steven (Marilyn) Bone, Beverlee (David) Whipple, Debra (Steven) Gull. She will be greatly missed by her family and many friends.

Funeral Services will be held on Sunday, 11 January 2026 at 1.p.m. Viewing Sunday 11:30-12:45 Under the direction of Cedar Valley Funeral.