Donna Jo Wilson

Donna Jo Wilson, 69, of Leander, Texas, passed away peacefully on June 20, 2011, after battling cancer for more than a decade. She was born Sept. 13, 1941, in Shattuck, Okla.

Donna was preceded in death by both her mother, Georgia Christina Mason, and her father, Donald Pierce Farrand. She is survived by her husband, Peter Wilson of Leander, Texas; her two children, Paula Jo Ingle of Grinnell, Iowa, and Donald Darrah and his wife, Janelle, of Newton, Iowa; her brother, Ted Farrand of Colorado Springs, Colo.; her grandchildren, Jennifer, Julia, Josh, Jayce and Donald; and many nieces and nephews and great-grandchildren.

Before the onset of her illness — she fought the cancer with enormous courage and strength — she had developed into an excellent self-taught artist, working in pencil, pastels and oils, and experimenting with small-scale sculptures. Trips to Europe rekindled her interest in good food and wine, and she experimented and copied what she tasted over there. She enjoyed life and loved her family and (to her surprise) her stepdogs, Tequila and Tasha.

The family is enormously grateful to the caregivers who helped her so much: Cindy and Cirlei, Nenette and Sylvia from Austin Homecare and to Carol and others from Hospice Austin. Donna was much loved by and will be missed by, many.

Services are pending with Beck Funeral Home, 1700 E. Whitestone, Cedar Park, Texas 78613, (512) 259-1610.