Donna Jill Simmer, 63, of Wamego, Kansas, died Friday, March 1, 2013, at Mercy Regional Health Center in Manhattan. She was a long-time resident of the community.

Donna was born October 6, 1949, in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Fred and Edith Gibbs Pinkley. She attended local schools and graduated from Wamego High School in 1967. She attended Brown and Mackie College and then Crum’s Beauty College.

Donna married Wilford E. “Bill” Simmer on June 22, 1968, in Wamego, Kansas. He survives at their home. She and Bill owned and operated Bill’s Service and Car Wash and Donna was the bookkeeper for forty three years. She was a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and St. Bernard’s Catholic Church. Donna enjoyed playing cards, scrapbooking and other crafts. In her younger years she enjoyed fishing, dancing and water skiing. Above all Donna loved her family and especially her grandchildren.

Donna is also survived by her mother, Edith Cutright, Westmoreland; her daughter, Melanie Beck and her husband, Gerry, Olathe; her son, Will Simmer and his wife, Rachael, McPherson; brother , Fred Pinkley and his wife, Cindy, Pensacola, Florida; and her grandchildren, Madison, Noah and Myles. She was preceded in death by her step-father, Tom Cutright.

Memorial services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Thursday, March 7, 2013, at Campanella-Evan Mortuary in Wamego. Inurnment will follow at St. Bernard’s Catholic Cemetery. The family will greet friends on Wednesday from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the mortuary. They suggest memorial contributions to the Ronald McDonald House or St. Jude’s Hospital, and those may be sent in care of the mortuary. Online condolences may be made at www.campanellafuneral.com.