Donna Jean Forrest

Our Beloved Mother, Donna Jean Forrest (Frederick), passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at the age of 82 surrounded by her children, Jeff, Will and Sombra.

She was born in Belcourt, North Dakota on January 14, 1941, on the Turtle Mountain Reservation to Patrice and Clara Frederick. Donna had 10 siblings; she was the second oldest. The family moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1942 to work in the shipyards during World War II. Then, in 1948, they moved again to Vanport, outside of Portland, Oregon where her mother got a job welding on ships during the war. After the Vanport flood in 1948, they moved to downtown Portland. She attended St. Lawrence Catholic Grade School and graduated from Lincoln Highschool in 1959 at the top of her class.

Donna got her first job working at Lipman's and Nordstrom to save enough money to buy beautiful dresses. As an attractive young lady, she was very outgoing and had many girlfriends and male suitors.

She had her first child in 1961 and later married and had two more children. In 1980, she put herself through college while raising three children and with a full-time job working at JC Penney. She received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Portland State University and later a master's certification in contracting from George Washington University. She worked at the Department of Interior, both for the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a contract specialist in Washington D.C. for 20 yrs. She then moved back to the Portland area and retired in Vancouver, WA. She quickly bought herself a motorhome and began traveling.

Donna enjoyed the outdoors and was part of a large family of campers. Mt. St. Helens at Spirit Lake was a favorite camp spot for many years before the mountain finally blew. She loved learning, traveling, hiking, playing tennis and taking her kids everywhere. She liked to dance and listen to music. She also loved visiting family and friends often as she could. Later in life she enjoyed metal detecting, gold panning, ghost hunting, stargazing and was an avid watcher of movies, new and old.

She was a kind, loving, compassionate and generous person. She was devoted to her children and raised them to be independent free thinking spirits and impressed the importance of pursuing higher education. She loved to host parties and family BBQ's; Donna always made people feel welcome in her home. She leaves behind two sweet birds, Bindi and Harpo.

Donna is survived by her sons Jeff Forrest (Robert Zisgen) and Will Forrest (Alicia Das Gupta); her daughter Sombra Forrest (Steve Karr); brothers Ron, Pat, Dale and Dennis; sisters Janice, Hope and Charlotte; and many nephews and nieces.

She is preceded in death by her parents Patrice Frederick and Clara Francis; brother Richard Frederick; sisters Sharon and Carol Ann Frederick.

Our mother Donna will be deeply missed by her family and friends. We will also miss her telling of the many ghost occurrences she experienced throughout her life.

Rest well Mom. We will see you again.