Obituaries : Donna Guerrero

Donna Guerrero, 73, of Cedar Rapids, died Wednesday, August 12, 2020, at Heritage Specialty Care, Cedar Rapids. Visitation: 2-4 p.m. Saturday, August 22, 2020, followed by a Funeral Service at 4 p.m. Due to the Derecho storm damage, services will take place at Van Steenhuyse Russell Funeral Home, Vinton. Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Marion, is caring for Donna and her family.

Donna Guerrero was born October 7, 1946 in Denver Colorado. She was a preacher's kid raised by Pastor Charles and Ethel (Johnson) Craig. She had 3 siblings, Pastor Carlos Craig, Cynthia Foster and David Craig. Donna was born with Cerebral Palsy, but she did not allow that to slow her down. She went to Oakwood College where she developed her passion and skill for teaching and library science. She later studied at the University of Montemorelos, Mexico, where she enjoyed singing in the choir and taking voice lessons. As a trained vocalist, she enjoyed singing in concerts with the choir and orchestra as well as being a soloist. During song service at church, she could always be heard in the middle of the congregation singing descants powerfully over the top of everyone around her as if the whole congregation was her choir.

When she moved to Keene, Texas, she started her career teaching in various school districts, as well as teaching Spanish at Keene Adventist Elementary School. She went on to get her Master's Degree in Education at Texas Woman's University. This opened the door for her to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) at Southwestern Adventist University while simultaneously running the curriculum library. While she enjoyed her career in education, her real passion was being a mentor to college students and helping them overcome obstacles to learning.

She later moved from Keene, Texas, to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to be closer to her son Jonathan and daughter in-law Shoshannah. She enjoyed many healthy years before her body started to weaken and she required 24/7 care. She eventually began a steady decline before contracting Covid-19. She miraculously survived Covid-19, but soon after came down with a bacterial infection of the colon called C.diff. which continued her decline. In her last days she was able to be with her son, daughter-in law, and two grandsons that she adored. She also had a chance to say goodbye to her siblings before she breathed her last breath on Wednesday morning August 12, 2020, at the age of 73.

Donna is survived by her son, Jonathan; her daughter-in-law, Shoshannah; grandsons, Ansel and Izaak; her siblings, Pastor Carlos (Letty) Craig and Cynthia (Jeff) Foster; sister-in-law, Maria Craig; and nieces and nephews. Donna was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Ethel Craig; her brother, David; and her oldest son, who was stillborn. Donna now rests free of pain, illness and disabilities awaiting the shout from God and archangel and the loud trumpet blast that will tear open her grave and raise her up to a new body and eternal life.