Donna Claire Fahrlander

Donna Claire Fahrlander, 91, of Fort Collins, died peacefully surrounded by family on February 2, 2023.

Donna was born on March 7, 1931 in York, Nebraska to parents, Kenneth and Alyce Jaeger. Throughout her life, even during childhood, Donna's greatest desire was to have a family of her own and raise her children well. In 1951, she married her high school sweetheart Daniel Fahrlander, with whom she did just that. Their four children were born in Iowa and Nebraska, but Dan's work in vocational education took them all over the world, including Taiwan, Egypt, Pakistan, and Beijing.

Once their children were grown, Donna and Dan settled in Ohio, where at 53 years old, Donna earned her Bachelor's degree in English as a Second Language. She taught adults for many years and continued to travel with Dan on his longer assignments abroad. Then, in 1986, they settled in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Donna was the matriarch of the family in every sense of the word. She kept the family together, encouraging them to work through any differences and always land on common ground. Her warm and joyful nature raised everyone up, her love and care enveloping everyone around her. She loved to entertain with homemade treats and open arms and spend time in her garden, extending that same care to her plants and flowers. As a young woman, Donna wrote My Philosophy of Life, which she closed simply with, "As I make others happy, I am happy. Let that be my life code." And, she lived it every day.

Donna is survived by her children, Mike, Carolyn, Dan Jr. and Trudy; grandchildren, Kelly, Ella, Matt, Sebastian, Zoe, Elias, Jessika, Josh and Ian; and great-grandchildren, Sage, Danny, Elliott, Krisanna, Dillon, Geno, AJ, Ashton, James, Caleb, Nevaeh and Ryker; and three special sisters-in-law. She was preceded in death by her husband of 71 years, Daniel C. Fahrlander.