Lucille 'Donna' Englert, 92, Hays, went to be with her Lord on Sunday, March 2, 2025, surrounded by her family at her home.
She was born April 17, 1932 in Stratton, Colorado, the daughter of Henry “Hank” and Catherine (Jostes) Pelle. She was a graduate of Stratton High School with the class of 1950, and on June 24, 1952, she was united in marriage to Leonard A. Englert in Stratton. They celebrated 65 years of marriage before he preceded her in death on May 11, 2018. Donna was a loving mother and homemaker, handing down many cooking and baking skills to her children. She worked at Travenol, Hadley Hospital, and when Leonard was injured, helped him in the oilfields as a pumper. She was a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church and a volunteer at the Arc Thrift Store. Donna taught herself to play the organ and enjoyed traveling throughout the United States and abroad. Her greatest love was crafting, and for many years she taught ceramics and spent endless hours quilting, crocheting, knitting, cross stitching, and doing diamond dots art.
Survivors include her two sons, David Englert of Santa Fe, New Mexico and Gary Englert and wife Anita of Topeka, four daughters, Cecelia Gerstner and husband Joe of Eagleville, Tennessee, and Cindy Romme and husband Galen, Sonya Drees and husband Mike, and Dana Kari, all of Hays, her sister, Diana McDermott of Palisade, Colorado, two sisters-in-law, Camilla Pelle of Boulder, Colorado and JoAnn Pelle of Rapid City, South Dakota, 17 grandchildren, Shelby, Jesse, Allia, Shilo, Logan, Paige and husband Russell, Tony and wife Jessica, Jenny and boyfriend Joe, Grant, Chase, Samantha and husband Mike, Derek and girlfriend Madi, Ashli, Vivian, Kaitlin, Haili and boyfriend Logan, and Toni, eight great grandchildren, Tegan, Azaria, Lily, Liam, Harvey, Nash, Linkoln, and Ada, her precious dog, Cookie, and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Leonard, her daughter-in-law, Elkie Englert, her brother-in-law, Tom McDermott, and her siblings, Donald Pelle, Mildred Dreitz and husband Alvin, Betty Lobmeyer and husband Bob, Harold Pelle, Virginia Malone and husband Park, Doris Weir and husband Bill, and Bud Pelle.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 am on Monday, March 10, 2025 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church with Fr. Fred Gatschet officiating. Burial will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery. Visitation will be from 5:00 pm until 7:00 on Sunday and from 9:00 am until 9:45 on Monday, all at Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home. A parish vigil service and rosary will be at 6:00 pm on Sunday at the funeral home. Memorials in Donna’s honor may be made to the Arc of the Central Plains, Holy Family Elementary School, or to HaysMed Hospice. Condolences and memories of Donna may be left for her family at www.haysmemorial.com