Donna Rice

Donna Rae Rice, one of two children born to Helen Gertrude (Lincoln) and Charles H. Rice, was born on February 5, 1937 at Tabor, Iowa. Donna attended Tabor High School.
Donna and Billy Lee Hankins of Tabor were married in 1952. They made their home in Bellevue, Nebraska where Billy was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base. Their marriage was blessed with a son, Charles.
Donna's sales work took her to California and later to Mexico and Central America. Because of her traveling, Donna's parents raised Charles from the age of nine months through his graduation from the Malvern High School in 1971.
Charles then joined his mother at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and they spent the next year touring Mexico and all of Central America. They returned to the United States in 1972 and spent the next six years working and traveling. They settled near the Ozarks at Wheaton, Missouri.
In the early 1990's, Donna's mother's health began to fail, so Donna moved to Malvern to live with and care for Gertie. Donna continued to work as a salesperson for a photography studio in Omaha until disabled by cancer. Following treatments for cancer, Donna realized she was terminally ill and would need to make arrangements for her care and the care of her mother. In September of 2002, Donna and Gertie moved to Grove, Oklahoma where they would live with Donna's son Charles and his wife Nancy and their children, Shawn Hankins of Orlando, Florida, Anna Hankins of Grove, and Chas Hankins of Bartlett, Kansas. Shawn, Anna, and Chas were a great help in caring for both Gertie and Donna.
Donna died at the Integris Grove General Hospital in Grove on October 31, 2002. She had attained the age of 65 years, 8 months, and 26 days. Donna was preceded in death by her father and brother Jackie Rice. At the time of her death, Donna was survived by her mother Gertie Rice and son Charles Hankins and his wife Nancy all of Grove, Oklahoma; sister-in-law Marilyn Rice of Loveland, Colorado; nephews Rick Rice, Mark Rice, and Brandon Rice and niece Jackie Chambers; other relatives and friends.