Donna Louise Coultas December 25, 1937 - December 16, 2018

Donna Louise Coultas passed away very peacefully on December 16, 2018. She was surrounded by her sweetheart of 62 years Gary Arthur Coultas, her children, her beloved cat Missy, several grandchildren and a couple great grandchildren. We are very grateful her transition was peaceful and timing on point – taking her final breath as the song “Homeward Bound” sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir ended.

From her birth in South Gate, California on December 25, 1937, to her death on Sunday, she nourished all those around her with her passion, faith, love, and wisdom. She was the second born to Earl and Martha Stewart and is preceded in death by her brother, Douglas Stewart. She is survived by her sister Barbara Auga. She spent her childhood in Los Angeles, California where she met her future husband at the age of 14.

Donna loved new and exciting foods and was quite a daring cook, once making octopus for family dinner! At 17, she and Gary had their very first taste of pizza but had to travel all the way to Hollywood to get it. As youths every Sunday, she and Gary and their siblings would go to her mother’s house for dinner. Her mother, Martha, would prepare delicious Mexican food, sometimes with fresh Tuna caught in the Pacific Ocean by Ed Auga, her brother in law. Her very first job, in 1953 was at Van De Kamp’s Bakery as a cashier. Her Aunt Ora was the manager there. After high school graduation, she worked in finance for a machinery company, using a Comptometer adding machine. She also took a job at Crown Coach, a manufacturer of school busses and fire trucks. As young adults, they thoroughly enjoyed dancing and she was the only one on Gary’s dance card. Her first car was also her and Gary’s first car together, an MG convertible sports car. After the birth of their second child, they traded it for a family car, a Plymouth Valiant.

She married Gary Arthur Coultas August 12, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. Together they brought seven children into the world and raised them in Houston, Texas. All who knew her would say she was mother to hundreds more. If you were a child in her midst, she took you under her wing as her very own. She was dedicated to service, volunteering anywhere and everywhere she could. After the birth of her second child, born with Spina Bifida, she and Gary founded the first ever organization in Houston, TX for parent support, the Spina Bifida Association, which now has more than 125 chapters all over the world. She was a passionate salesperson and could sell just about anything, from Tupperware and Avon to red wheat from North Dakota. She was a pioneer of modern food storage and helped so many others get prepared as well.

She was a constant seeker of knowledge, driven to challenge herself as an adult with learning piano, Spanish, computer technology, oil painting, quilting, sewing, just about every kind of craft imaginable. Donna was a gifted gardener, starting with orchid culture in California, keeping it going after her move to Texas (in greenhouses) and finally upon moving to Utah she declared, “I’ve moved from the Garden of Eden to the desert, but the desert blooms as a rose.” In Utah, her gardening and cultivating flowers could all happen outside – tulips and crocuses in the spring, fruit trees in the summer, chrysanthemums in the fall, and roses just about all year long!

She was a voracious reader, enjoying every genre, but most surprisingly, science fiction/fantasy. She had a delightfully wicked sense of humor, with one of her favorite holidays being April Fool’s Day, practically a holy day for her. One particular stand out practical joke she played involved Gary being arrested. She called her children one by one and explained that she needed quick help because Dad had been arrested picking wildflowers. Every single one of her children were completely tricked! She always appreciated a good joke and broke tension in elevators by telling quick jokes to her fellow passengers.

The Coultas family recreation is river running. She was incredibly devoted to Gary’s wild inclinations to explore our world. In the 1990s, Donna clocked 30 days of sleeping on the ground during various river trips. She truly loved exploring the flora, fauna, and especially the rocks of our great American rivers. In her last years, she retired from river running only because her body could no longer keep up.

She was called to found and manage one of the first data entry centers for entering genealogical data from worldwide church records into a computer database in the mid 1980s in Friendswood, TX – a position she tried to turn down at first. But this calling was perfect for her as she loved new technology and family history. In her last years, she spent many hours each day at her computer doing family history research.

After raising children in Houston, Donna retired with her husband in Springville, Utah in 2001. She spent her final years getting to witness many grandchildren (27) and almost as many great-grandchildren (26) join the family. With her sweetheart Gary she served three church missions, Texas, Idaho, and Utah. She loved her missionary experiences because she was able to meet so many people and teach young adults. Her final calling in the church was working in the call center at the Provo City Center Temple. Her most beloved of all church callings was Primary Music – she loved teaching children and she loved music.

Left to honor and remember her love are her beloved sweetheart, Gary, seven children, Cheryl, Lisa, Scott, Barbara, David, Karen, and Lanell, and many grand and great grandchildren.

Funeral services are at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Springville, UT, (1095 S 1700 E St. Springville, UT 84663) Wednesday December 19, 2018 at 10:00 am, viewing at 9:00 am.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity. If she could tell you herself today, Donna would say to do something for somebody else.