Donna Schrage

Donna Marie, nee Ligtenberg, Schrage died peacefully in the memory care unit of the Tucson Place Nursing Home in Tucson on June 14th, 2025, one day before their 40th wedding anniversary. She was born in Armour, South Dakota, on June 3rd, 1941. 

She is survived by her loving husband, Dale Schrage, their Standard Poodle, Quincy, her sister Jacqueline (Ligtenburg) Sherman of Phoenix, Arizona, her niece Tonya Arnecke-Watson of Austin, Texas, and their three Godchildren Ben,. Robyn, and Jackson Arnecke of Austin, TX. She was predeceased by her her parents, Benjamin and Marjorie (Reed) Ligtenberg, and her sister JoAnn (Ligtenberg) Peacock.

Donna Graduated from Armour, south Dakota, Grade School and High School. She attended a secretarial School in Sioux Falls and then moved to Tucson in 1962 and accepted employment with the Red Cross. In 1965, she began working at Kitt Peak national Observatory. She held various positions, finally as Budget manager. While working at the Observatory, Donna attended the University of Arizona at night and earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and in Management Information Systems.

Dale and Donna met at a party in 1968 while he was a graduate student. Starting in 1969, they both worked at Kitt Peak National Observatory, became a couple in 1983, and were married on June 15th, 1985.

They moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1986. While living there, Donna first worked for Mason-Hanger in Los Alamos and then worked as an accountant in Santa Fe, first for a Law Firm, and then for a private charitable foundation. She and Dale both retired in February of 2005. They lived in Santa Fe until 2014 when they moved back to Tucson.

Donna and Dales main entertainment was travel. They had visited forty-seven states and 48 countries. Donna's avocation was volunteering at a charitable organizations. While living in Tucson prior to 1986, Donna Volunteered at the Casa de Los Ninos taking care of infants. While living in Santa Fe, she managed the kitchen of a homeless shelter, distributed food at a food depot, and cooked Sunday dinner for the homeless at a local Presbyterian church. After returning to Tucson, she volunteered at the Assistance League of Tucson's Thrift store.

Since 2020, Donna has suffered from Lewy body dementia, syncope and atypical Parkinsonism, and a left branch block in her heart. She was kept at home with health aides until August of 2023 when she went into a memory care unit in a nursing home.  

Special thanks to our friend Barb Tracy who came to the house weekly to make Donna a "good" breakfast and played mentally challenging word games with her. Barb also often visited her in the nursing home. We also need to thank the Home Instead aides who came to the house every day and did everything possible to make Donna's life as pleasant as possible. She went into home hospice with Emblem in May of 2023. She moved into the memory care unit of the Tucson Place Nursing Home in August of 2024 and we thank their nurses and staff for making her last days as pleasant as possible.

 Per Donna's request, her body was cremated and there will be no memorial service.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Assistance League of Tucson. 1307 N Alvernon Rd. Tucson, AZ 85712