Donna (Martin) Oakeson Obituary (1922 - 2006)

Our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, Donna Martin Oakeson, passed away peacefully on October 23, 2006. Donna was born January 6, 1922 in Scipio, Utah, to Cecil Martin and Beatrice Quarnberg Martin. She married Warren L. Oakeson on April 2, 1949. They were later sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. She worked for many years for the “U.P.”, the Union Pacific Railroad. Donna was a devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many ways. She was a gifted poet and was a member of the Utah Poetry Society. Her friends and family will delightfully remember her wit and talent with words. She particularly enjoyed writing about dinosaurs and used the pen name “donnasaurus”. She was creative, artistic, and a wonderful cook. Her potato salad will never be equaled. She had a beautiful singing voice. She was active and involved and even led water aerobics classes into her seventies. She is survived by her husband, Warren; four children, Randy (Trudy) Oakeson of Hyde Park, Suzanne Oakeson of Sandy, Brad (Heather) Oakeson of Sandy, Marty (Marjan) Oakeson of Orem; 10 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. Also, six loving brothers, their spouses and families. Funeral services will be Friday, October 27, 2006 at 12 noon in the South Jordan 9th Ward church, 9750 South 2200 West, South Jordan, Utah. A viewing will be held Thursday, October 26, from 6-8 p.m. at Jenkins-Soffe South Valley, 1007 W. South Jordan Parkway (10600 South), South Jordan, and Friday from 10:30-11:30 a.m. prior to the services at the church. Interment South Jordan Cemetery. Donna wrote this poem for her mother but it expresses well our feelings for her: I cannot picture earth Without my mother’s face; Yet I know her presence there, Makes heaven a better place.