Elmwood Cemetery

Donna, the adored only child of Donald and Helen (Krause) Helble was born Dec. 17, 1948, in Davenport, Iowa. She spent her childhood in De Witt, Iowa, which always held a special place in her heart. She graduated from Simpson College with a B.A. in elementary education and French, received a M.S. in remedial reading from Winona State University, and an Ed.D. in language arts education from the University of Northern Colorado.Donna was professor emerita of Winona State University. Education and children’s literature were her passions. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she began her teaching career at Minnesota City Elementary School as a second grade teacher. In 1973, she moved to Goodview Elementary School, where she taught grades one through four in the Program for Learning in Accordance with Needs.In 1988, Donna began her career at Winona State University as a professor of education. She served as adjunct professor at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, and the University of Northern Colorado. She also served as teacher intern for the Hon. Tim Penny, First District Minnesota U.S. Congress.While at W.S.U. Donna chaired the popular community-wide “Reading on the Mall” event for 25 years. Through activities designed by her W.S.U. Children’s Literature classes, the event promoted children’s literacy in Winona and the surrounding communities. A booklet of activities was published for parents, teachers and day care providers. The day-long February event attracted over 2,000 people annually, and each child who attended received a new book to take home.As a proud and dedicated member of the Rotary Club, for 26 years Donna was chairperson of the Rotary Readers program, which sent Rotarian’s into elementary classrooms monthly to read to the children. Three books were donated to the classrooms each month and once a year, Rotary gave a book to each student. Donna also worked with Books for Babies, another Rotary Club project, to donate board books that community health nurses could take to visits with new parents to encourage them to b...

WOODWARD — It was just a statement made between two brothers.Over a year ago, Chris and Donald Hobbs were spending time together in the way brothers do, working quietly shoulder to shoulder, breathing the same air, drinking the same brand of beer."It was Christmas before last and I was building gun cabinets out of cedar and he saw what I was doing and said, ‘I like this. When I die just build me a casket out of this,'" said Chris, of Woodward.And so recently, Chris spent 36 hours doing just that for his brother, who died suddenly.Without stopping, Chris and his other brother Richard labored, honed, sanded and shaped cedar wood into a one-of-a-kind casket so that in some way, a part of him could accompany his brother one last time on a journey he couldn't take with him.Last week, about 100 mourners and family gathered to lay Donald R. "Duck" Hobbs to rest in the handmade cedar casket his brothers made for him. According to the staff at Billings Funeral Home, it is only the second handmade casket they have ever had presented for the burial of a family member.The work was hard but meaningful and a way for Donald's brothers to work through their grief, Chris said."You know, I guess some people cry and others get angry or say angry things, and I build with wood," he said. "For me, I guess this is the best way for me to love my brother."The casket was made with locally harvested red cedar logs. Years earlier, the brothers had worked together harvesting the wood and kept it for the last couple of years in Chris Hobbs' sawmill at his home southwest of Woodward."It worked out well because we had the wood right there in the mill because we had harvested it and it was just there curing all this time," Chris Hobbs said.He began his labor of love just hours after he and his family had stood by Donald's bedside and said their final goodbyes at AllianceHealth in Midwest City. Hobbs succumbed to a sudden cardiac arrest. He was 50 years old."We had gone on Monday to Billings Funeral Home to make plans and then I called Glenn to ask if I could bu...

Leon Precise lived his faith with conviction, love, and an ever-present sense of humor. Precise graduated from Birmingham-Southern College and received his Master's Degree in Christian Education from Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He and his wife of 46 years, Betsy, had two sons. Precise began his career as a minister at Canterbury United Methodist Church in 1969. He touched the countless lives at Canterbury, including serving as the Youth Director, Director of Christian Education, Director of Stephen's Ministries, Director of Hearts and Hands and Ministerial Supervisor to Older Adults. During his more than 25 years working with the Canterbury youth, Precise's family's summer vacation was taking the church youth group to the beach."We have people who are in their 40's and 50's who still call themselves "Leon's Kids" because they were part of his youth group," said Dr. Bill Morgan, Senior Minister at Canterbury UMC"A group of them got together after church Sunday and went into a classroom and told Leon stories," he said. Morgan said that Precise was at every level a people person and a champion for serving others. "Because he knew how hard life was for poor people, he always had a passion for the underdog. He was always a champion for equality and inclusion, and people appreciated that about him," Morgan said.Precise died October 29, 2014. He was 73. A celebration of life service was held November 2.Morgan said that Precise had a huge servant's heart. "He was a hilarious guy who loved having fun."See all The Birmingham News' Life Stories hereDr. Frank E. Adams, Sr., 86, of Smithfield, died Oct. 29, 2014. A celebration of his life will be held Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. at Metropolitan A.M.E Zion Church. Entombment will be held in Elmwood Mausoleum. Maxine Moore Antonio, 88, of McCalla, died November 2, 2014. Funeral Mass will be Wednesday, November 5 at 11 a.m. at St. Aloysius Catholic Church with burial to follow in Cedar Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 10 a.m to 11 a.m. Louise Barnett, 102 of...