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4 • OCTOBER 2020 - Senior Voice of Citrus County
DONNA from Delaware. “From a jazz

continued from page 3 bagpiper to a taxidermist, a
100-year-old woman, and
my dad weren’t together, they even the band, DEVO, Donna
always defended us.” always found something
different to write about.”
Even before she started her
journalism career, Donna was She also found fun in
passionate about words. When challenges. She went – and

her children were young, wrote about – skydiving. On
she joined a local Scrabble a dare, she entered a bareback
club and would play in mule riding race – even
tournaments. though she had never even
ridden a horse before. She
“She loved her crossword finished third in the race.
puzzles, too, the harder the
better,” said Shelby. On weekends, she’d go to
Rehoboth, a popular beach
By the early 1980s, Donna spot. That’s where she met,
was divorced, and her Donna and Jim married in 1986. They worked for newspapers and started dating, Jim in

children were mostly grown. throughout the East Coast and founded three newspapers of their 1985. The couple married in
She started working as a own. (Photo by Jim Vavala) 1986.
reporter for an entertainment with Blues legend BB King. column.
publication, Fine Times. She At the same time, she started By 1989, they decided they’d
was able to indulge her love managing local bands. “Donna’s writing career had enough of Delaware
of music by covering the local started off with such a wide winters. They both took jobs
music scene, interviewing In 1984, Donna joined variety of unusual, funny, with the Tampa Tribune –
and writing about local and the Delaware State News, and weird stuff that she was Donna as a reporter covering
national stars. One of the covering the city beat and a treat to read,” said Eva

highlights was an interview writing a regular humor Dickey, a friend of Donna’s
Continued on page 5
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