Dona Lee (Zwiener) Kaminski

Dona Lee (Zwiener) Kaminski, 88, of Maryville, MO, passed from this life on Monday, August 31, 2020, at her daughter’s home in Maryville.

Dona was born on December 13, 1931, in Columbus, Nebraska.  Her parents were Emil J. and Marie Eleanor (Sims) Zwiener; and preceded her in death.  She was also preceded by her husband Jerome Joseph Kaminski, and her sister Cletus Swanda.

Dona went to grade school in a country schoolhouse where she was the only student in her grade for 8 years.  Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  Six days later Dona turned 10 years old.  That summer and until she was 16 years old, Dona drove the tractor and helped her father with the farm work because there were no young men around to help.  Because of this she considered herself a veteran of WWII. Dona went to Columbus public high school and graduated in 1949.

Dona attended Grand Island Business College and once graduated, she moved to Sidney, Nebraska, to work at the Sioux Army Depot in many different jobs from 1950 to 1955.  Dona had met Jerome Kaminski before college and married him on June 20, 1951.  Jerry worked for the Union Pacific Railroad and also moved to Sidney after the marriage.  David, the first child was born on 1955, Jolaine, the second in 1957, Jean, the third was 1959, Dan, the fourth in 1960, Janet, the fifth in 1961, and Dale, the sixth in 1967.  Once the kids were old enough Dona started working for the Sidney Public Library, as a library assistant from 1964 to 1967.

Dona was very active in the church in both Sidney and in Schuyler, Nebraska where the family moved in 1972.  In Schuyler, at St. Augustine’s Church, Dona was a Eucharist Minister, a reader at Mass, President of the Little Flower Altar Society, President of the Religious Education Committee, leader of the St. Clair Study Group, and head of the religious education program.  She also found time to help clean the church.  She found a job at the Schuyler Public Library in 1975 as a library assistant.  Through the years she moved up to being the library director and retired in 1998.

In retirement, Dona enjoyed gardening and learning to sketch and paint as well as continuing to read anything she could find in a book. She mostly enjoyed reading non-fiction and history as well as books giving her knowledge about the growth spiritually in her faith.

In August 2009, the children moved Dona and Jerry to St. Joseph, Missouri, to a retirement community, where they could be closer to Jolaine to help care for them.  Dona moved in the summer of 2013 to Maryville, Missouri, after Jerry died, to Jolaine’s hometown.

Dona was always very social and enjoyed being with and visiting with others. She also was very good at writing letters and staying in touch with her acquaintances.  Most important to Dona was her faith in, and love for God.

Left to mourn her passing are her children, David (Belinde) Kaminski, Pennsylvania, Jolaine (Tom) Zweifel, Maryville, Missouri, Jean (John) Kaminski Camaro, Jacksonville, North Carolina, Daniel Kaminski, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Janet (Mark) Schmidt, Jr., Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Dale (Carol) Kaminski, Kearney, Nebraska: 15 grandchildren; 4 great grandchildren: 2 sisters: Alyce Bauer, Lincoln, Nebraska, and Lois Ann (Sr. Mary Gabriel) Zweiner, Rochester, Minnesota.

Mass of Christian Burial, 10:30 AM, Monday, September 7, 2020, at St. Gregory’s Catholic Church, Maryville, Missouri.

The family will receive friends for one hour prior to the service on Monday at the church.

The burial will be on Tuesday, September 8, 2020, at 10:30 AM, at the St. Bonaventure Cemetery, Columbus, Nebraska.

Services are under the direction of the Bram Funeral Home, Maryville, Missouri.

Memorials are suggested to the Schuyler Public Library, Schuyler, Nebraska.