“QUIET CRUSADER WAS UNSUNG HERO – When she was bored Donna used to doodle daisies. It was a habit she picked up in college. One she would slip into again and again when pols with big heads would waste time grandstanding and double talking at Orange County Commission meetings. Donna had no time for such nonsense. She was a women of action and many causes – all centered on the belief that we are put on this Earth to make a difference.

    And for 63 glorious years she did. Donna Rickelman was one of those unsung heroes working behind the scenes to make life better for everybody else. I had the privilege of knowing her since 1988 when she worked as executive assistant to then County Commissioner Linda Chapin. Last week Donna died after a prolonged battle with cancer. For almost a decade she fought the disease, but even as her body deteriorated, as she donned another new wig after yet another round of chemo, or was forced to walk with a cane and later use a wheelchair, her spirit to challenge the status quo, her courage to speak up about life’s injustices, only grew stronger. To say that Donna touched many lives is an understatement.

     Donna was a woman of substance. She never had a personal agenda. She was never a kind of person who was willing to be a name on a letterhead. If she joined an organization, it was because she believed in it with all her heart. She worked hard. She had guts. She would take stands on things despite prevailing sentiments. If she thought something was wrong, she would speak up."

     She spoke up more than once on this very page. In one “My Word” column in 1996, Donna lamented that the saying “it takes a village” to rear a child had become politically divisive. Donna pointed out that it took both a family and village to help children succeed. Donna wrote “If, in fact, the village/community does not have an influence on your family, then why do we care about values and standards? We do not live in a vacuum, and we do have an effect on one another. Manners do count; civility does matter; and kindness will turn away wrath.” Donna felt deeply about her community and she was a real champion for those who couldn’t advocate for themselves.