Donna C. Mcculley

Mrs. Donna C. McCulley, age 85, died July 21, 2020 at her residence at Poplar Estates.

A visitation will be Monday, July 27 ^th from 1:00 – 3:00 pm at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church on Cayce Lane in Columbia, followed by a Funeral Mass at 3:00 pm celebrated by Father Daniel J. Reehil.  Burial will be at a later date in Maury Memorial Gardens. Heritage Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Born March 9, 1935 in Wheeling, West Virginia, she was the daughter of Alvernon W. and Marie Kelly Otte.  On January 22, 1955 she married Harvey L. McCulley, Jr. who preceded her in death on January 14, 2017.  A homemaker, she spent her entire life caring for her husband and children in New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Illinois and for three separate times, in Puerto Rico as she and her husband moved around with his growing career at Union Carbide.  An accomplished seamstress, she created beautiful outfits for her three daughters and then later in life, for several of her grandchildren.  Her children were the center of her life.  She was the driver for Girl Scout and Boy Scout meetings, baseball and football practices, marching band, swim meets and numerous other activities in which she encouraged her children to take part and was always proud of their accomplishments.   She loved all of her children and then extended that same love to their spouses and all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren who all loved her in return, perhaps in part due to the cookies and pies she baked for family gatherings.  Taking up golf as a “best friends” activity with her husband, she played for many years in leagues in Columbia, Illinois, and Puerto Rico.  As constant companions, she and her husband enjoyed square dancing with their Union Carbide friends in Puerto Rico, and after transferring back to Columbia were active in the Wagon Wheelers square dance club.  Donna made all the colorful costumes they both wore for square dance competitions they traveled to around the country.  After retirement, they were season ticket holders for the Tennessee Titans and rarely missed a game until his death after which she continued to watch them on television.  Mrs. McCulley was a lifelong faithful Roman Catholic and a communicant of St. Catherine of Siena, where she also volunteered for many years with the Lazarus Ministry and the Altar Society.

She is survived by her daughter, Lynne (John) Brandon of Birmingham, Alabama, son, Daniel (Janice Vinson) McCulley of Columbia, daughter, Renee (Al) Schwartz of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, son, Thomas (Elizabeth) McCulley of Gulf Breeze, Florida, and daughter Michele (Elwood) Ervin of Cookeville, Tennessee; and Steve Smith of Newburgh, Indiana; grandchildren, Stacie (Nathan) Berck, David Schwartz, Kathryn McCulley, Christopher (Kelly) Schwartz, Kirsten Smith, Megan Brandon, Alex (Catie) McCulley, Anthony Smith, Madeline Brandon, Aidan, Eliana, and Julian McCulley; great grandchildren, Karlye, Lucy, and Jonathan Berck, Grayson and Annslee Kate Schwartz; and many dearly loved nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. McCulley was preceded in death by her sister JoAnn Killeen and her husband Bob.

Active pallbearers will be Marty Baker, Joe Battersby, Ken Grappin, George Gorski, Joseph Kuhl, Gene McShane, Dr. Robert MacArthur, and Randy Sparkman.  Honorary pallbearers will be Carol Smith and Jeanne Binford who brought the Holy Eucharist to her at Poplar Estates, Dr. Lucy Ledbetter, Dr. Alex Goodman, Dr. Emilio Rodriguez, and all the physicians who provided such good care for her over the years.

The family wishes to give a special thanks to all the staff and caregivers at Poplar Estates who also provided great care and comfort for their Mom.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in her honor to the Maury County Animal Shelter or Saint Catherine Catholic Church.