Donna Walters Obituary

Donna (Minniear) Walters passed away May 6th, 2022, characteristically surprising everyone by surviving terminal cancer and then passing away quickly in her own bed. She was born the middle child to Bill and Juanita Minniear on March 28th,1949 and grew up in Commerce City, Colorado. A proud Eagle for life, she was active in planning class reunions and kept in touch with many of her childhood and high school friends throughout the years. She lived in the Denver area until she and her husband moved their family to Durango in 1976, where they started a successful business and a legacy of adventure, friendship, and community.



Donna loved all things interesting and unique. At her core she was a researcher, and her interests were as varied and far reaching as the friends she collected. She could speak with equal authority on Southwest history, Muhammad Ali, historical crime, and which paint would best serve a project. She made friends wherever she went and people couldn't help but adore and be fascinated by her. She did most things before they were cool; restoring vintage cars, hiking the Grand Canyon to Havasupai annually, riding a Harley Davidson, starting her own general contracting company. She was a creative spirit and loved to work with her hands, whether it was as a graphic designer, sewing her kids' Halloween costumes, or remodeling homes. She excelled at all of it. More than anything though, she was a natural storyteller. She was witty, captivating, and irreverent in all the most perfect ways and will always be remembered for how she could make people laugh, often at inappropriate times.



She is survived by her children: Aaron (Kara), Adam, Corey (Condi), David (Katherine), and Lindsay; her grandchildren: Eli, Sydney, and Averson and Dylan, Ayla, and Billie; her sister Sandy, her brother Mike, numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, a bunch of rowdy cousins, and more friends than we could count. By her adamant request no services are planned. The family has requested that memorial tributes be made in the form of charitable donation to the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center (https://health.ucdavis.edu/cancer/giving/memorial-and-tribute-gifts.html) or other favorite charities.