Donna Marie Mitchell Knighton

Donna passed away peacefully in her home in Goshen, Utah, on May 2, 2017, after many years of battling cancer and its complications.  She was 72.

Donna Marie Rasmussen was born on March 28, 1945, in Walla Walla, WA, to Jack William Rasmussen and Edna Marie Kenaston.  In 1964, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology from Washington State University and married Patrick Mitchell, with whom she had three sons. Donna and Pat were later divorced. She went on to study Montessori education, receiving two master's degrees.  She worked for many years as a Montessori teacher, including establishing one school in Texas.  Later, she worked as a school librarian and administrator, and finished her career working in the aerospace industry.  She married Kenneth H. Knighton in 2010, and after retiring they moved to Goshen, Utah, in 2013.

Donna had lifelong passions for quilting, crafting, gardening, and caring for animals.  She will be remembered as a strong, intelligent, and hard-working woman who was full of creative energy. She considered her largest accomplishment to be raising her family, and she ingrained in her sons the motto "Stick Together."

Donna is survived by her husband, Kenneth H. Knighton; her three sons Harlan (Laura) Mitchell, Chad (Anna) Mitchell, and Logan (Cate) Mitchell; and eight grandchildren.

A private family service will be held at Donna's graveside in Hyrum, Utah. Some of her ashes will also be spread on the Oregon coast, where she loved to visit