Donna L. Conner, 62, of Kempton, died Sept. 24, 2021, in St. Luke’s Hospital, Allentown.

She wand her husband, Mark D. Conner, were married 42 years in March.

She was the daughter of the late Harold “Mixer” Fatzinger, and Marilyn (Glass) Benscoter and her late husband, Sheldon “Sam” Benscoter.

Born in Allentown, she graduated from William Allen High, where she was a “Bando” and very much enjoyed playing clarinet in the band.

She loved music and had an appreciation for classical, as well as rock. She especially loved the “Nutcracker” and tried to go to a performance every year with family, also listening to the music frequently.

Her husband considered himself lucky to meet her early in life when they worked at Shane’s fast food restaurant when they were 17.

Married at 19, they built a life so closely intertwined, that other than work, they were seldom seen apart.

Her two children, Alison and Chris; later, grandchildren, Everett and Miles, were the light of her life and she was a rock of support for her husband.

She loved her son-in-law Andrew, who was fully adopted into the extended family.

She also hoped for a daughter-in-law and more grandchildren.

She loved nature, travel, camping, arts and crafts and family above all.

Always the family trip planner, she usually kept several trip idea folders at a time.

These folders were filled with places and things to do, dubbed “folders of fun” for family vacations.

Most vacations were to state and national parks, having visited many of the national parks over the years.

Glacier National Park and a trip to Alaska were her favorites.

She had an incredible ability to find the good and fun in almost any situation.

She traveled with her husband on work trips when possible, especially when it involved more interesting destinations (two folders of fun were of course required).

She had many interests and frequently marveled that anyone could ever be bored.

She chaperoned the kids trips (enjoying them as much as they did).

She coached cheer leading and soccer, refereed and helped run youth soccer.

She kept track of all kinds of local fairs, festivals and happenings they enjoyed.

She loved people and brightened the lives of everyone she knew.

Kind and considerate, she never spoke ill of anyone.

Her home was the social hub for family and friends, and she puton huge food spreads for holidays, birthdays and any other excuse for a gathering.

She became legendary for her pasta salad, being prohibited from making any other dish for any gathering (as well as all kinds of work events).

The family spent much time over many years with her husband’s extended family and especially her sister-in-law Jane Urffer (Conner) who was more like a sister, and brother-in-law Larry Urffer who was more like a brother.

Their two children, Charissa and Seth, are the same age as Alison and Chris and the cousins were also good friends.

Countless weekends started with the families visiting or helping each other on a project and evolved into parties and gatherings large and small.

A devoted mother, grandmother and wife, she was an avid gardener, she loved to grow herbs and vegetables.

Mexican food, especially salsa and pico, she canned many varieties of her own salsas, so much so that she called her garden a salsa garden.

She also loved figure skating, filling many, many VHS, later DVD and TiVo storage with countless hours of her favorites (leaving room for Hallmark movies of course).

She worked five years at Phoebe Home, Allentown, before taking off to devote herself to motherhood.

She later worked for many years at KidsPeace, Orefield, where she met many wonderful, lifelong friends.

She talked about Jen and Kathy so much that her husband thought of them as the three amigos.

She moved with her husband to Texas for his job, but the pull of family was very strong and prompted him to get a job closer to home, in Pittsburgh, allowing them to come home frequently before his retirement in 2017.

The couple began riding horses in Texas and continued in Pittsburgh.

As was her nature, she became good friends with their instructor Jess Soisson and volunteered as staff at the stable summer camp, teaching kids about growing food, raising horses and other animals and enjoying nature.

She battled ovarian cancer for almost six years alongside a tremendous care team including Dr. Boulay, Dr. Stepp, Dr. Munns, their outstanding teams and the wonderful infusion center nurses.

Despite this long and sometimes arduous battle, she and her husband continued to travel, working trips around her various treatments; leaving directly from treatment on two occasions for trips to Alaska and Montana.

She was eternally optimistic, never giving up and enjoying every moment of her life up to the edge of her ability.

She leaves behind a heartbroken husband, beloved children, Alison and Christopher, and wonderful grandchildren, Everett and Miles, all of whom lit up her life.

She also leaves behind a brother, Randy.

Visitation will take place 9:30-11:30 a.m. Oct. 23 at Keller Funeral Home, 1018 Church St., Fogelsville. There will be no service and interment will be private.

Condolences may be offered to the family at kellerfuneralhomes.com

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, c/o the funeral home, P.O. Box 52, Fogelsville, PA 18051.