Donna Ann Walkup Tabor's Obituary
PERRY-Donna Ann Walkup Tabor, 81, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Friday, October 20, 2017, after a brief illness. Surrounded by some of Donna's most treasured artwork, the family will receive friends on Tuesday, October 24, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Perry United Methodist Church. The Funeral Service will follow at 11:00 a.m. in the PUMC Sanctuary. Interment will be in Evergreen Cemetery immediately following the service. Donna was born in Winchester, Kentucky, to the late Col. William Edmund Walkup and the late Eva Andrew Walkup Ebert. While her father was in the military, Donna lived many places, including Nuremberg in 1946 and Okinawa in 1951, where she graduated from Okinawa American Dependent High School. She subsequently studied Art History at Agnes Scott College and graduated from Mercer University. While on Summer break in California, she met Lt. Allen Tabor, who was stationed at Fort MacArthur. They married at the famous Wayfarers Chapel in Palos Verdes, California, on October 5, 1956. When Allen was discharged from the Army in 1957, they returned to Allen's hometown of Perry.Donna taught elementary school for 13 years and then was a Real Estate Broker for 20 years. Donna's real passion was her art work, for which she received many awards and broad recognition. Her favorite medium was watercolor, although her talents included oil, acrylic, and drawing. She was a member of the Houston Arts Alliance and the Perry Arts League. Donna was a former member of the Clean Community Commission and was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels. Donna was a long-time member of Perry United Methodist Church, was a member of the IHS Sunday School Class, and was a former Administrative Board Member. Her greatest love in life, however, was her family. Left to cherish the memories of Donna are her loving and devoted husband of 61 years, Allen Tabor of Perry; their son, Al, his wife Michelle, and their children, Arielle Tabor and Jon Tabor, all of Woodstock; their daughter, Andrea Tabor Pearson, her husband, Walter O'Brien, and their children, Will Pearson, Cole Pearson, Jack Pearson, Corinne O'Brien, Courtney O'Brien, and Connor O'Brien; and her partner in crime-her sister, Susie Hietala, and her family, all of Carson, California. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests memorial contributions to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 26 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10004. Condolences for the family may be left in the online guestbook at www.watsonhunt.com. Watson-Hunt Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.
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