Donna Cleone Johnson

Donna Cleone Johnson, 93, of Englewood, CO died at her home at Caley Ridge Assisted Living on May 19, 2026, of natural causes. She missed her 94th birthday by 3 days but passed away on what would have been her and her husband Bill’s 75th wedding anniversary.

Donna was born on May 22, 1932 in Linn County, Iowa. She was the daughter of Gail Amos and Martha Elizabeth (Wolmutt) DeLancey. During Donna’s school years they resided in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They lived for a brief time in Des Moines, Iowa and Omaha, NE but eventually moved back to Cedar Rapids where she graduated from Franklin High School in 1950. Donna also attended Coe College for one semester. After that she married the love of her life William Glen “Bill” Johnson on May 19, 1951.

Donna and Bill had a wonderful life together. Bill served in the US Army and during that time they were relocated to El Paso, TX. They met good friends there but were glad to get back to Iowa. They continued to live in Cedar Rapids while they grew their family to include their 3 children Karen, Keith and Kristi. In 1962 they moved to Cedar Falls, Iowa. Bill worked at H&H Machine Tool Co., and this is when Donna began developing her entertaining skills. She enjoyed hosting Bill’s clients and having all kinds of parties for the many friends they made there. It was a fun time in their life but in 1970 they changed course and moved back to Cedar Rapids when Bill became co-owner with his brother of Master Tool & Mfg. Donna continued her entertaining and hosted many holiday dinners and parties for friends and family. She had a group of high school friends that met for lunch on a weekly basis and came to be known as “the Tuesday Nooners.” She was also close with her neighbors and hosted many gatherings and parties with them. She was happy to host prom parties, birthday and graduation parties and even her daughter’s wedding at their home. She was a great cook and hostess.

Bill retired in 1984 and in 1986 they moved to Sun Lakes, AZ. Donna found her calling volunteering as a docent at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. She became a Master Gardener and loved learning about desert plants and meeting all the people that visited the Garden. She especially loved the traditional Luminaria they put on every Christmas and even chaired the event once. She continued to play host as they made many good friends there and family visited often. They became grandparents to 7 and loved every minute they could get with them. In 2002 they once again changed course and moved to Bella Vista, AR. They found a great house and settled into a quieter life. After 9 years there they decided to go back to their roots and returned to Iowa – this time in Waterloo where Karen lived. They were glad to be back by family and old friends. As they became great grandparents, they were happy to be close by and more accessible to them. That really became Donna’s joy – being a grandma and great grandma. In 2016 Bill passed away and Donna needed a change so in 2017 she moved to CO where Kristi lived. She enjoyed being around the family there and everyone visited often. She was so proud to be a great grandmother to 8 kids ages 7-13 and relished every holiday and visit with them.

Donna is survived by her children; daughters Karen (Craig) Jensen of Waterloo, IA, and Kristi (Don) Jones of Littleton, CO; son Dr. Keith (Denise) Johnson of Gordonville, TX; 7 grandchildren, Jill Mejia, Joel (Emily Gonzalez) Jensen, Jake Jensen, Chad (Katherine) Jones, Meg (John) Fink, Will Jones, Matt Johnson; 8 great grandchildren, Robert, Charles and Cooper Mejia, Jack, Emmie and Faye Fink, Delancey and Miles Jones; a sister-in-law Suzanne DeLancey and several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband Bill and her brother Craig A. DeLancey.

There will be no services for Donna at this time. Condolences may be left in her Guestbook at Horancares.com

Donna had an amazing life. She traveled to football games and bowl games. She went on cruises and trips abroad. She visited family and went on vacations with friends. Donna instilled a love of nature and animals. She valued her family first and foremost and they all felt that. She was a loving and involved mother, grandmother and great grandmother and friend. She will be forever remembered and missed.