Dona Maria Mays

Dona Maria Mays, 80, of Amarillo, TX passed away August 27, 2024.

Memorial service will be at 2:00 PM, Tuesday, September 3, 2024 at Boxwell Brothers Ivy Chapel, 2800 Paramount. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors. 

Dona was born September 2, 1943, in Pearsall, TX to Frank and Dona Frances Fluegge. She obtained her Masters Degree and worked as an elementary and middle school teacher. 

“My Bestfriend, Dona”

To start with something funny, Dona’s family and our family met at church. Dona walked over and introduced herself and asked, “Is that really your hair?” We both started laughing-and yes it was my hair.”

Dona was so excited going to college. Her mind was made up, she would be a teacher! Brilliant lady, she loved to read. Dona would read 2-3 books a week. She finished college, got a teaching job, and loved it. In her second week of teaching, she went to her car, and someone slashed her tires. She called me and I just knew she was crying and to my surprise, she was laughing. The next day, she had new tires and told her students, “You will be in jail if you are caught slashing tires.”

Dona was not a cook. Sam did most of that, thank goodness! Dona and my husband would read, Sam and I would cook. Dona decided it was time to buy a microwave as it was easy to make food fast. She invited us to come over for dinner, pork chops, baked potatoes, and green beans. We didn’t recognize any of it. The pork chops were black and hard as a brick, the baked potatoes blew up, and the green beans were in a metal pan, and it blew up the microwave. She started laughing and said, “McDonald’s.”

Dona called one day and said “I need help, I’m in Plainview at Ramsowers Furniture Store” so off I went. Dona needed a couch that she could lay on, so 24 couches were being tested. She would lay there for 15 minutes. Finally, she asked what I liked, “Leather” I said. It lasted over 10 years plus the 2 chairs, 3 tables, and one vase. Sam was the shopper, Dona not at all. Sam called and asked for me to help with Dona’s wardrobe. She went and showed 13 outfits, only 1 thing, a beautiful jacket. This is when we realized Dona never wore a bra. 

Vacation time for just Dona and I, we went to Georgia. She read a book, “In the Garden of Good and Evil.” Louisiana was amazing, Mississippi was unbelievable, Atlanta was southern belles and gorgeous homes, Georgia, Hello Paula Deen. We took a tour of a cemetery that was in the book she read. She interrupted the guide, and asked if she could tell the story. Of course she took over, very dramatic and the tourists loved it. They clapped when she was finished, she was so knowledgeable!

We ate at fabulous restaurants, one with an old boat in it like what a pirate would be in. Amazing buffet, there was a sign that said, “One Platter Only” and the platter was huge. We ate well and loved it all. Got in the car, travelling to our next destination. I smelled an odor; it was something in Dona’s purse. I asked her “What is in your purse?” “Chicken for dinner!” No need to say anything- we ate the chicken. At the hotels, Dona would ask for the nearest hospital, best restaurants, and police department. 

We were at the dining table, rain started, hail started, and the sky was DARK. Dona being a teacher said, “lets practice the tornado routine.” We did, we went to their shower, Sam sat on the floor, Winston in a chair, and Dona and me on a built in seat. We barely got back to the living room and the tornado siren HIT, LOUD! We went back to the place in the shower, and there is Dona with her fur coats, glamorous purse, and a box full of insurance. 

Dona was a precious woman to me! Loved her dearly. Laughter was our medication. Dona loved her family. She had no common sense, but she was brilliant in everything! I love you my dear friend. 

Dona is survived by her nephews, Ernie Barker and his children, Ben, Grace, and Sarah, and Kelly Barker and his wife Sandra and their daughter, Elizabeth.