Holly Anne Donaldson

   Holly Anne Donaldson, daughter of George and Lorraine (Welch) Donaldson, was born on December 14, 1955, in Waterloo, Iowa. The family moved to Webster City for a short time, then to Minneapolis, eventually moving back to Waterloo. She graduated from West High School in Waterloo. Following high school, she married and had a daughter, Lorraine. She enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom. They later divorced.
   She married Ronald Ries on August 31, 1979, and two children were born: Jacob and Elizabeth. She became a stepmom to Chad and Ryan. When the family moved to Spencer in 1988, she worked at Longhouse Nursing Home as a housekeeper for couple of years, worked at Casey’s Convenience Store and JCPenney. She then was able to stay home and babysit her grandkids which she truly loved. In 2002, she divorced and moved to Cherokee in 2003. While living in Cherokee, she met Joseph Hayes and spent 17 wonderful years together.  She worked at Casey’s, was the General Manager at Kum & Go and Cargo, night cashier at Sparky’s and was a night supervisor at Kmart until they closed.  She retired and worked part-time as cashier at Dollar General and finally Hy-Vee.
   Holly loved to make crafts and sell them on her Etsy Store, MzhorseysPlace. She crocheted doilies and afghans. She absolutely loved to quilt. She made wreaths, table runners, quilts, and many other items. Starting in 2020 she made and donated hundreds of face masks for the nursing home in Albert City, the employees at Hy-Vee and Dollar General, Cherokee Police and Firefighters, every person in her family and extended family,  and many friends. She loved horses, collecting anything she could that was horse related. She has thousands of horse figurines and statues. Holly loved to spend time with her family, especially her grand and great- grandchildren. Holly enjoyed spoiling her cats and loved them as much as her kids. She would help anyone in need and was a mom to many.
   She passed away peacefully on Monday, December 28, 2020, at her home in Cherokee, at the age of 65. She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Lorraine Donaldson.
   Left to cherish her memory are her daughters: Lorraine Vanderpool (Brian) of Gillet Grove, IA, and Elizabeth Ries (Chuck) of Spencer, IA; her son, Jacob Ries (Erin) of Spencer, IA; her partner, Joseph Hayes of Cherokee, IA, and his two children and families; 16 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; brothers: Irv Donaldson (Chris) of Carver, MN and George Donaldson (Mae) of Fridley, MN; sister, Sandra Donaldson of Waterloo, IA; nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews; other relatives and many friends.

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