Donna Lea (Connelly) Dible, of Rexford, and
Bonita Springs, Fla., passed away on Dec. 20, 2022, at her
residence in Bonita Springs.
Donna was born in Rexford on April 24, 1935, the youngest child
of Chester and Martha (Claar) Connelly. She spent her childhood in
Thomas and Sherman counties, and Sunnyside, Wash., returning to
Thomas County toward the end of the war in 1943. Donna was a 1953
graduate of Rexford High School.
Donna married William (Bill) Dible on July 26, 1953. They lived in
Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Alabama for the first three years of their
marriage, while Bill served in the U.S. Army.
For the following three years
they lived in Wichita, where Bill worked at Boeing Aircraft. They moved
with their three children to Rexford in May 1959 to farm and raise
their family. They added two more children to their family, and Donna
would say having children was the happiest time of her life.
Donna excelled at all things domestic! She was a fantastic cook,
a talented seamstress, enjoyed interior decorating, landscaping her sunken
flower garden, and completing crossword puzzles. Donna played the piano
and taught her daughters to sing in three-part harmony for church, and
other performances. She was involved with her children’s activities from
piano and dance lessons, Pioneer Girls, engineering camp, sports and
numerous other events with her family.
Donna fervently read and studied the Bible and attended church at the
Rexford Community Church, the Worldwide Church of God in Hays, and the
United Methodist Church in Florida. She served as a Stewardess for the
Rexford Community Church and sang with the Sweet Adelines in Colby.
Donna worked for a short time for the NWK Educational Service Center.
She loved to travel. In the beginning, it was family vacations with five
kids in a station wagon, later in an RV as snowbirds in Texas, Arizona
and Florida, to eventually purchasing a home in Florida. Bill and Donna
also traveled to Mexico, China and Italy.
Donna was preceded in death by her husband, Bill; parents, Chester and
Martha Connelly; her brother LaVerne Connelly; sister Frances Black;
nephew Mark Black and grandson, Dominic Passantino.
Donna is survived by children, Robert, Lynn (Mike) Zimmerman, Michelle
(Lenny) Patmon, Susan (Gary) Pfrang and Anita (Rocky) Passantino; 11
grandchildren, Nathan (Magdalene), Drew (Amy), and Skylar Zimmerman;
Lindsey (Nate) Moore, Whitney (Kile) Zerr, and Jenna (Mitch) Gatz; Derek
(Jessica) Pfrang, Kehley (Charles) Marion, and Corbin Pfrang; and
Alexis and Gabriella Passantino and 12 great-grandchildren, Ivan, Thane,
Lydia, Emersyn, Mallory, Lennyn, Reata, Pate, Natalie, Cash, Dawson,
and Quinn.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2022, at Baalmann Mortuary in Colby. The funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28 at the
Rexford Community Church with burial to follow at the Rexford Cemetery.
Memorial contributions
may be made to the Rexford Community Church or St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital and sent in the care of Baalmann Mortuary, PO Box 391,
Colby. For information or condolences visit www.baalmannmortuary.com.