Donna Fay (McCowen) Dugger Wilson, age 88 of Elkville, Illinois, passed away peacefully at 3:34 p.m. on Tuesday, December 23, 2025 at her house surrounded by family.
Donna, along with her twin brother, Donald Ray McCowen, was born in Mt. Vernon on August 25, 1937 to the late Ralph and Hazel (Hamilton) McCowen of Waltonville. Out of the eight children born to Ralph and Hazel, Donna and Donald were the only children born in a hospital, due to the busy peach season in full swing.
Donna grew up in Waltonville and graduated from Waltonville High School. She bravely took the train to Washington, D.C., where she worked for the F.B.I. While there, she met her future husband, Carlton “Carl” Dugger on a blind date. Carl was in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Washington, D.C. Because the age for men to marry was 21 years old, Donna and Carl eloped to Halifax, North Carolina where they married on July 26, 1957. They spent over 37 years together until his passing in 1994.
Donna later married Fred Wilson in Sevier County, Tennessee on October 7, 1997. They enjoyed over 14 years of marriage until his passing in 2011.
Donna was a wonderful military wife and mother. Since her husband was gone for many months at a time on aircraft carriers, Donna managed the household, raised her two children, cared for pets and shouldered many other responsibilities like a single parent, without living near family for support. The family moved frequently, often every 2-3 years, and Donna learned to “roll with the punches”. She was very resilient, working hard to make the frequent moves as easy as possible, since their lives were so often uprooted, routines were disrupted and leaving behind friends, and finding and reestablishing a home in each new location was very challenging.
Donna was an avid gardener, growing every kind of vegetable. She also maintained a beautiful yard with beautiful flowers, and won several awards for the nicest yard on the base.
Donna also loved to dance and loved music. She met many special friends whom shared her passion for dance.
Donna was very active in the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) in Sesser and supported Veterans Benefits. She also loved to cook and spent most of her life during her first marriage as a Navy Wife.
Survivors include her children, Mike (Diana) Dugger of Benton and Linda (Mark) Yates of Elkville; grandchildren, Chris (Leticia) Dugger, Jason (Brooke) Dugger, Chad (Amanda) Dugger and Tiffany (Nick) Troeckler, all of Staunton, Colt (Sydney) Dugger of Benton, Dana (Joey) Holmes of St. Johns, Todd (Brandi) Yates and Jennifer Yates of Elkville. She is also survived by fifteen great-grandchildren, her sister-in-law, Josephine (Boczek) McCowen of Waltonville, and many nieces and nephews and great friends.
Besides her husbands and parents, Donna was preceded in death by all her siblings and in laws, Dyer (Kathleen Casey) McCowen, Freda (Arley) Lemons, Calvin McCowen, Jr. (Margaret Ziarnek) McCowen, Jerry (Betty Olivier) McCowen, twin brother, Donald McCowen and Diane Philp. She was also preceded in death by her nephew, Hamilton McCowen, great nephew, Ryan McCowen, mother and father-in-law, Dan and Louise (Brooks) Dugger and brother-in-law, Richard Dugger of Georgia.
A Visitation will be held Saturday, January 3, 2025 from 10:00 am to 11:00 am at Newell Funeral Home in Waltonville, Illinois. A Funeral Service will begin at 11:00 am with Kirk Packer officiating. Interment will follow at Maple Hill Cemetery in Sesser, Illinois. Memorials may be made in Donna’s honor to Residential Hospice.