Donna K. Johnstone

Funeral service for Donna K. Johnstone, 74 of Lawton will be at 4:00pm at Lawton Ritter Gray Funeral Home on Saturday, September 2, 2017.  Mrs. Johnstone passed away on Friday, August 25, 2017 at her home in Lawton.
Donna was born on October 14, 1942 in Temple, TX to Fred Donald Pickering and Anne (Leeds) Pickering.  She grew up in Rockford, IL, graduating from West High School in 1960.  She attended the Rockford Memorial School of Nursing in Rockford, IL and earned a Nursing Diploma in 1963.  
Donna’s first job was as a Pediatric Charge Nurse at Rockford Memorial Hospital.  Following her marriage, she moved to Ft. Lewis, WA and worked in the Madigan Army Hospital.  Upon their transfer to Ft. Sill, OK, Donna was employed by Comanche County Memorial Hospital as a Registered Nurse, then by the Reynolds Army Community Hospital.  Donna’s career as a nurse and caregiver spanned 46 years and included positions as a Registered Nurse in four hospitals as well as a position as a RN/Case Manager for Hospice of Lawton Area.  Donna described her work with Hospice as the most rewarding and mentally challenging job that she ever had, and she enjoyed it very much.  She was a lifelong member of the First Presbyterian Church in Rockford, IL.
While in nursing school, Donna became pen pals with her future husband.  Donna married James T. (Tom) Johnstone on July 16, 1965 in Rockford, IL.  Their marriage lasted 42 years and produced two children: Charles and Cheryl.  Charles was born at Ft. Sill, OK in 1966, and Cheryl was born in Würzburg, Germany in 1969 while Tom was deployed.
Donna is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Charles and Karan Johnstone of Winchester, VA; her daughter Cheryl Johnstone of Lawton, OK; her sister and brother-in-law Robbie and John Gholson of Eureka, IL; her sister and brother-in-law Betsy and Ron Hughes or Livonia, MI; her brother Leeds Pickering of Cheyenne, WY, her grandchildren Ryan and Noah Johnstone, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband James Johnstone.

 Service Information