Donna Jane Weinson
August 1, 1958 – November 13, 2024
Donna Jane Weinson passed away peacefully on the morning of November 13, 2024, in Seattle, Washington, in the loving company and care of her family, following a glioblastoma multiforme diagnosis in early August 2024.
Donna was born on August 1, 1958, and spent her childhood in Los Angeles, California. From an early age, Donna was drawn to words and language, and would fondly recall getting lost in her stories and books. Donna attended high school at the Westlake School for Girls, a formative experience that nourished her intellectually and led to the development of a lifelong community of friends. She excelled in school, growing her passions for writing, history, and the French language. Her high school friends remember her as a feisty, witty, fun-loving, and exceedingly well-read young person. Reconnecting with her Westlake community brought Donna a great deal of joy throughout her life.
As a young adult, Donna followed her love of learning and writing to UC Berkeley, earning her Bachelor of Arts in History in 1981. During her college years, Donna developed an attunement to politics and social justice that continued throughout her life. Donna furthered her skill and fluency in French, studying in college classes and immersing herself with a year living in Paris. Later in life, she fondly remembered her shoebox apartment in Paris, located right above a bakery with wafting smells to prove it.
Adoption and family played central roles in Donna’s life. Using her skills in historical research, Donna worked tirelessly as a young adult to find members of her biological family. She would recount days of researching in libraries and poring over phonebooks to find her family of origin. This research led to the development of a rich and meaningful relationship with her found half-brother, Todd Anderson, whom she simply adored. Her search for biological family was a lifelong project.
Donna was a caring and committed mother who loved her two children more than anything else. She gave birth to her son, Ethan Cohn, in 1988, and daughter, Iris Cohn, in 1998, both in Los Angeles. The family moved up to Portland, Oregon, in 2003, where Donna used her talents in writing as a freelance copyeditor. She was a playful and involved parent, who passed her love of language, learning, music, and art to her children. Donna was also a dedicated cat and dog parent and found great joy in her animal companions throughout her whole adult life.
She is remembered by her family, friends, and all the people she touched throughout her lifetime as loving, kind, generous, loyal, witty, thoughtful, sincere, gentle, and graceful. She maintained these traits even when receiving her diagnosis and through her subsequent months in hospice care. Her last months were filled with laughter, music, and the companionship of her beloved family.
Recompose’s mission, values, and approach fit perfectly with the appreciation of nature, desire to minimize impact, and environmental ethics Donna espoused throughout her life. The family is also thankful for Kaiser’s home hospice care staff and Kline Galland Home for augmenting their care and companionship and helping make Donna’s final months as comfortable as possible.