On Sunday, April 23rd, Donna passed away after a 3 ½ year battle with Ovarian Cancer. Donna was diagnosed in September 2013 and began her fight to beat this difficult cancer. She endured many rounds of chemo and radiation. She continued to live her life to the fullest as she battled her cancer. In the last two years of her life, Donna travelled to the Caribbean, California twice, Tahiti, Perdido Key, Puerto Vallarta and Alaska. Donna checked off many items from her bucket list. Some of these included fly fishing, catching a big fish and mounting it and display it on her home and sleeping in a hut over the water in Tahiti.
Donna was born October 18, 1962 in Houston, Texas. She was raised in Carthage, Texas
She graduated from Carthage High School in 1981. Attended and graduated Panola College in 1983. Went onto Stephen F. Austin College in Nacogdoches, Texas. She graduated in 1985 with a Bachelors of Business
Donna had plans of becoming a lawyer but those plans changed when she began working for Coca-Cola Enterprise in Austin, Texas in February 1988. Her career with Coca-Cola took off and she never looked back. She began a long career in the Information Technology department.
In August 1991, she met the love of her life, Debbie Jean Edmondson. After many years together and a change in the law, they had a wedding on the beach in Perdido Key, Florida in June 2015.
Preceded in death, Mother, Tommie Ruth Hawley; Father, James Harold Hawley; Beloved grandparents Horace and Mabel Hawley (fathers side) and grandmother, Lois Opal Morse (mothers side).
Survived by loving wife of 25 years, Debbie Edmondson-Hawley of Smyrna, Ga, sister Sharron Bryant of Marshall, Texas, niece Starla Bickerstaff and husband Paul and great-niece Payton, nephew, Stephen Wilkerson of Thornton, Colorado.
Donna was active in sports most of her life. She played basketball in High School and College, softball and golf. She loved to fish. She would fish for any type of fish. She would travel to Texas in April to spend a week with her best friend Tammye Hudson and the two of them would fish every day. Tammye would travel to Georgia on several occasions to join Donna at her lake house and fish from dawn to dusk.
In lieu of flowers, Donna would appreciate donation in her name to the Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance.
Services will be 1:00 p.m. Saturday, April 29, 2017 at the Hawthorn Funeral Home Chapel with visitation one hour prior from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Burial will follow in the Douglas Cemetery in Douglas, Texas under the direction of Hawthorn Funeral Home.