Donna Mathewes (nee Worth) passed away after a long and brave battle with AML (acute myeloid leukemia).

She was born and raised in Kimberley, the small city that she loved, in the East Kootenays of British Columbia. When she met Rolf Mathewes, her loving husband of 53 years, he remembers the proud stories she told of growing up in Kimberley. He was informed that the Sullivan Mine was once the largest lead and zinc mine in the world, where her father Wilbur Worth worked as a hard rock miner. Her mother Dorothy was a great cook and maintained their house that had a view to the ski hill and the forests nearby. Donna grew up with her older sister Colleen and brother Blaine and had a happy childhood with many friends that still remember her fondly. One outstanding memory was a band trip (she played clarinet) from Kimberley to Expo 67 where she helped to celebrate the Canadian centennial in Montreal.

After graduating from high school she needed to move on and develop her career as a nurse, beginning at the VGH School of Nursing in Vancouver. At a Nurses Residence party, she met Rolf and a long-term loving relationship was born. They were married in 1972 and she worked as an Emergency Nurse at VGH while Rolf was finishing a degree at UBC. Donna accompanied Rolf on an exciting 8-month stay in Cambridge, England, her first trip outside North America. On her return to Canada, she began a long history as an Emergency nurse in Maple Ridge, and fulfilled her lifelong dream of having children and a house. Daughter Kimberley was born in 1977, and Brooke three years later. She loved having kids and later her grandkids, and gave them every lesson and opportunity she could.

Donna was exceptionally artistic, and she somehow managed to find time to develop her watercolour painting skills while raising a family. She crafted many spectacular paintings that mostly still hang in her house, since she was reluctant to sell any of them. She also ran a company for several years called “Watercolour Dreams” that sold beautiful limited edition cards and prints, until she realized that she liked painting much more than selling. In recent years her artistic drive expanded to creating beautiful porcelain dolls with authentic costumes that she crafted, using vintage fabrics and other rare materials she had accumulated during her life travels.

Donna always valued truth, honesty and loyalty. These traits were important in her life as an emergency nurse, as well as in personal connections. She also had a great sense of humour, and a laugh that filled every space. It was well known throughout the hospital corridors and remembered by her close friends and family. Donna was one of those rare individuals that enjoyed giving gifts even more than receiving them. She was generous to a fault and somehow could always find the perfect item that made people feel seen and taken care of. This loss is a profound one for the Mathewes family. She will be forever loved and well remembered by many as anexceptional wife, mother and grandmother, and a caring, loyal and reliable friend.