It is with deep sadness the family of Donna Satti Nielsen announces her passing, peacefully on January 14, 2018 in Duncan, BC. She is survived by children Bill Nielsen of Duncan, BC (Kelly), Dorothy Nielsen of London, Ontario (Victor Ricciotti), Rose Nielsen of Nelson, BC (Dan Obradovic), and Gail Nielsen of London, Ontario (Campbell Thomson).
She will be missed by her dear sister, Eleanor Satti Butler of New London, Connecticut, and by her grandchildren Harry Nielsen (Aoife), Laura Robertson (Struan), Mary Nielsen (Travis Gibson), Thomas Ricciotti, Elijah and Jonah Thomson, and brand new great-grandchild, Freya Rose Nielsen, and all her nieces and nephews whom she held so dear.
She was predeceased by her beloved husband of fifty years, Harry, their daughter, Mary Krista Nielsen, and her two brothers John and Robert Satti.
Donna was born in 1932 in New London, Connecticut not far from the Atlantic. As a young woman she lived and worked in Brooklyn. She married Harry at the age of twenty-one, finally settling in Windsor, Ontario. Donna raised her children, tended her home, volunteered with community and church groups, and finished her degree in religious studies in Windsor, having started it thirty years prior at the University of Connecticut.
She wrote poetry and took an interest in philosophy and theology, often helping her husband edit his academic publications. She enjoyed spending time with her many close friends. And through the years, many of her children's friends found in her a faithful confidante when they needed someone to talk to. After Harry's death she moved to Nelson, BC, then to the west coast near Duncan, BC, where she passed away not far from the Pacific.
The family is extremely grateful to the dedicated caregivers at Dovehill House in Chemainus, BC, and Cerwydden Care Centre in Duncan, BC, and to Dr. Tanis Morris. She will be laid to rest beside her late husband in London, Ontario.
A funeral mass was held in Duncan, BC ; a memorial service and interment will be held in Spring in London, Ontario.
Donna was constant in her faith, kindness and generosity. In many of her books are slips of paper with names of all the people she prayed for, said rosaries and novenas for, all the names of her beloved friends and extensive family, living and dead, she kept tucked in the pages of her books and in her heart.