Donna J Kusy Osby

Donna Kusy Osby of Grimes, IA gracefully entered heaven on July 22nd after preparing for it her entire life.  Seldom missing a church service, Bible study, circle or potluck at St. Marks or Gloria Dei Lutheran Churches, Donna lived not only a life of Christian dedication, but was known to often ask her kids, “Did you go to church this week?”  Never afraid to spread God’s love, years ago, she baptized her mother-in-law in her final days in a nursing home.

Donna was born in Crete, NE on July 28, 1930 and married Robert Kusy on Easter Sunday, March 25, 1951.  With Bob’s employment at Equitable Life Assurance, they spent their first twenty-five years living in Cedar Rapids, Grand Rapids, Spokane and Sioux Falls, before moving to Clive in 1976.  With incredible typing, shorthand and administrative skills, Donna worked a number of years at the Iowa Association of Realtors before becoming Executive Secretary to the President at Bankers Trust, retiring in 1992.  Sitting outside the President’s office near the top of the escalator at one of the busiest downtown skywalk intersections at that time, Donna had the pleasure of interacting with many of Des Moines’ most active business people.  This was a true joy of hers and led to many interesting dinnertime stories!

Besides church and work, Donna loved family, friends and neighbors, helping organize the annual Sunset Terrace Labor Day Block Party; socializing with Valley moms, Tri-T and Red Hat ladies and Banker’s Trust retirees; maintaining lifelong friendships with people from each city she lived in and attending many of her grandchildren’s volleyball, softball, basketball, soccer, dance and show choir events. 

Family vacations were a big part of Donna’s life.  Three-week summer trips from Spokane to Crete, first by train and then by car, with three kids, a dog and her temperamental bladder, lead to frequent stops at many sketchy gas station restrooms!  Later in life, she and Bob made annual winter pilgrimages to Florida’s Gulf Coast, many times joined by family.

Donna was also a shopper, doing her best to keep Younkers and Von Maur in business!  Every Christmas the contest was which store boxes would be the winner?!  Thank goodness she didn’t meet Amazon!!

Donna’s love of church and family extended beyond Bob’s death in 2004, as she met Gene Osby of Urbandale at Gloria Dei at a grief/loss sharing class at church.  They married in 2009 and he died in 2011.  Gene had four sons with families who lived nearby, which allowed her to love many “new” relatives and little ones!

Donna is survived by two children Karen (Tim) Daniels of Spokane, WA and Bill (Cyndee) Kusy of Urbandale, grandchildren Monica (Joey) Nist, Mandy (Ryan) Jones, Paige Eliassen and Becca, Kyle and Julia Kusy, great-grandchildren Ellie and Easton Jones, son-in-law John Eliassen of Portland, OR, brother-in-law Bill Mueksch of Lincoln, NE, and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her daughter Kay (Kusy-Eliassen), sister Jackie and husbands Bob and Gene.

Special thanks to her close friends Alice and Bonnie, step-son Randy and Pastor Phillips for frequent visits to Kennybrook Village the past four years and to the wonderful staffs at Kennybrook and Suncrest Hospice Care who made Donna’s life fulfilling, comfortable and full of love.  Memorials can be made to Tiny Treasures Preschool at Gloria Dei or the ARL.

A visitation is planned for Tuesday, July 30, 2019 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. and a service will be held Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 11:00 a.m., both at Gloria Dei.