Donna May Fettig

Donna May Fettig

April 24, 1933 – February 1, 2023

Donna May Fettig passed away on February 1, 2023. She was 89 years old.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Lee Fettig.

She is survived by daughters: Debra (Tom) Burton, Michelle (Nick) Petrow, grandchildren: Steven Burton, Sophia Petrow, Anna (William) Bakke, Nicole Petrow, and Annie Burton, great-grandchildren: Theodora and Nicholas Bakke, and nieces and nephews.

Donna, the youngest of seven children, was born to Harry Dale and Ollie May Lantow on April 24, 1933, in Bristow, Oklahoma. The family then moved to Claremore, Oklahoma, where Donna lived until she married Lee. Even though her childhood was in the midst of the Depression, Donna said that her family always had enough to eat because they had a cow, chickens, and a garden.

Donna lost two brothers, both paratroopers, during World War II. Robert Lantow died at Normandy and Norman Lantow died in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden. Donna always said that these were the saddest events of her life and that her parents never fully recovered. She and Lee were able to visit the graves of both brothers at the American Cemetery Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy, France. The brother’s stories were recently included in a book, “Brothers in Arms, Remembering Brothers Buried Side by Side in American World War II Cemeteries” published in 2020. Following the war, Claremore, Oklahoma named their high school football field “Lantow Field”.

Donna graduated from high school in 1951. She had been in the National Honor Society and wanted to go on to college, but her parents could not afford to send her. Instead, she became a skilled legal secretary until her marriage to Lee.

Lee and Donna first lived in LaMarque, Texas after their marriage, where Lee was the city manager. They moved to Omaha, Nebraska in 1958 when Lee got a job at Northern National Gas Company, where he worked for most of his career. They raised their two daughters in Omaha and remained there following Lee’s retirement.

Donna and Lee attended St. Luke’s Methodist Church and later, First Unitarian Church of Omaha. Donna enjoyed visiting with her children, caring for her grandchildren, and playing bridge. She was able to live independently in her own apartment even after Lee’s death in 2019. She loved her family and had a good heart, and she will be missed.

MEMORIAL SERVICE: Saturday, February 18 at 2 pm at the West Center Chapel. To view a live broadcast of the Service, please visit www.heafeyheafey.com and click the “View Live Cast” button at the top of the home page. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to First Unitarian Church and Omaha Public Library Foundation.