NINA BELLE (FOSTER) DONOHUE, 88, passed away April 21, 2012 in Andover, Kansas.

Born in Wauneta, Kansas on January 6, 1924, she was the second daughter of Robert Lee and LaVerna Opal (Greathouse) Foster. When she was six months old, her family moved to the Foster farm.

She attended Prairie Center School for eight years and graduated from Cedar Vale High School in 1941. On August 13, 1942, Nina and Loren A. Donohue eloped in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The couple lived in rural Cedar Vale, Kansas until around 1947 when they moved to a farm north of Winfield in the Akron Community. They had two daughters, Barbara Jane and Betty Jean. Loren died on November 6, 1956, and until that time, Nina had been a homemaker. She and the girls had a home built in Winfield in 1957 and Nina joined the work force. After several odd jobs, she started working as a secretary to the extension agents at the Cowley County Extension Office and the Cowley County Weed Department. She retired in 1990 after working there 31 years. Nina joined BPW and she held all the offices during her membership. She was a 4H sewing leader and a member of the First Baptist Church and was a Sunday School Teacher for the third graders. Nina sold Tupperware for 15 years while working at the extension office. She took several classes over the years, the first being reupholstering class, followed by two terms of woodworking class, where she made two hope chests. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary. She learned to knit and crochet when Jean was born.

After retiring, she joined the William Newton Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, where she worked for more than 18, 500 hours and was the Volunteer of the year in 2010. She has made many items including baby caps, tea towel sets and baby blankets for the auxiliary. She crocheted afghans and bedspreads for each of her daughters and their spouses and each of her five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. She showed a lot of patience teaching her daughters and great granddaughters to sew and taught several nieces to crochet. She really enjoyed making items for her family and also for her friends at the church.

She continued to take classes after retirement, including a tatting class where she learned to tat. She made many thousands of flowers that she put on baby caps and greeting cards that she made from scratch. She also took a class learning to make greeting cards. She took several quilting classes and made many wall hangings and table runners and placemats for the family. Nina was a member of Quilters Guild for several years. She worked with Meals on Wheels for a number of years and was on the board of six years.

Nina loved her family and took care of her parents, going to the farm on several weekends a month helping with work in and outside the home. She was an avid gardener and took great pride in having a pretty yard. She never missed a grandchild's birthday.

Survivors include:
Her daughters: Barbara Jane Bucher and husband, Samuel; Betty Jean Elam and husband, John;
Her grandchildren: Orris Jay Bucher and his children, Stephanie, Jessica and Jackson; Wesley J. Bucher and wife, Shawna and their son, Waylon; Jason Elam and wife, Stacey and their children, Brendan and Abby; Justin Elam and sons, Alex and Andrew; Jill Elam and sons, Jordan and Gabe;
Her sisters: Nancy Ann Blair, Carol Kay Shull, Sally Jo Birkle, and Mickey Ruth Armbrister;
Her brothers: Richard "Mack" McClellan, David Lee Foster, and Donald Ray Foster; and
Her beloved angel nurse: Jessica Miller.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert Lee and LaVerna Foster, her husband, Loren A. Donohue, five sisters, LeOpal Frances Royalty, Mary Bess Clark, Lucy Mae Bennett, Ila Sue and Ima Lou Foster, two brothers, William Jefferson "Bill" Foster and Daniel "Dan" Hayden Foster.

Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 10:00 A.M. at Miles Funeral Service. Interment will follow at Highland Cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral home on Wednesday evening from 4 to 8. The family will greet visitors during this time.

A Memorial Fund has been established for Nina's ten year old great-grandson, Brendan Elam, who has been put on a liver transplant list. Contributions may be made through the funeral home.