Donna K. Hughes

Donna Kay Winchester Hughes

Donna K. Winchester Hughes, age 84, of St. Paul, NE, passed away on Sunday, February 23, 2025, at the Brookfield Park Skilled Nursing Home in St. Paul, NE. A graveside service and burial will be held at Grandview Cemetery, Anselmo, NE, at a later date. Govier Brothers Mortuary of Broken Bow is assisting the family. Online words of remembrance and encouragement can be left at www.govierbrothers.com 

Donna was born in Anselmo, NE on May 3, 1940, to W. J. Winchester and Ruth (Frost) Winchester. She attended Hoosier Valley School District #252 through 8th grade before graduating from Anselmo High School in 1957. In the fall of 1957, Donna entered a four-year nursing degree program at Hastings College, graduating from the Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in 1961. She began working in the Broken Bow Community Hospital, then moved to Crawford, NE to work for the Lutheran Hospitals and Homes Society. She continued working as a Registered Nurse in Roundup, MT, Akron, CO, and Clear Lake, SD.

On June 2, 1967, Donna was united in marriage to Dr. H. Dean Hughes in Clear Lake, SD. She periodically worked at the Deuel County Memorial Hospital and a family business while tending to her family. In 1997, she moved to the east coast and lived in Jacksonville, FL, Ocala, FL, and Lewistown, PA, before moving back to central Nebraska. She lived the last ten years of her life in St. Paul. Donna enjoyed watching birds (especially cardinals) and tending to her flowers. She also enjoyed beautiful sunsets and fanciful cloud formations. She was great at jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, and enjoyed playing many word games in her later years. In May 2024, she moved into the Brookfield Park Skilled Nursing Home where she stayed until her passing. As a lifelong caregiver, she was truly grateful for the many that provided her assistance.

Donna loved the poem High Flight, by John G. Magee, Jr. She would display this poem in her home, and she would often reference the day when she “…slipped the surly bonds of Earth…and touched the face of God.”

Donna is survived by two sons, Brent (Joan) Hughes, Plymouth, MN and Corbin (Joellen) Hughes, Brock, TX; grandchildren Rachel, Zachery, Joshua, Peyton, Alexa, Amery, Treston, and Mica; sister Doris Wells, Elba, NE; sister-in-law Cecilia Winchester, Broken Bow, NE; sister-in-law Patty Winchester, Anselmo, NE; and many great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and their families. She loved her children and grandchildren beyond words and regretted not living closer to them all in miles. 

Donna was preceded in death by her parents, W. J. and Ruth Winchester; her son Jeff Hughes; her grandson Jesse Hughes; her brothers Wendell Winchester and Gary Winchester; her brother-in-law Clinton Wells; and her nephews Willie Wells and Danny Wells.