Donna Faye Carrel

Donna Faye Carrel passed away peacefully on April 5, 2025, at the age of 95 after a brief illness. Donna was born on July 15, 1929, to Donald W. and Lena Faye (Cook) Saunders at the family home in Stewartsville, MO. She was a proud graduate of Stewartsville High School class of 1947. Donna Faye was united in marriage on March 14, 1948, to her high school sweetheart, Richard Clay Carrel at the First Baptist Church in Stewartsville. Donna and Richard lived for a brief time in St. Joseph, MO before relocating to Kansas City, MO and moving “North of the River” in 1953, eventually making their home in the Briarcliff area. Richard passed in 2008 after 60 years of marriage. They had two children, Greg and Nancy.

Donna’s love for The Lord was evident from an early age. She was baptized as a young girl at First Baptist Church in Stewartsville, and in 1957 she moved her membership to First Baptist Church of North Kansas City where she remained a faithful member for 68 years. She was highly involved with Women’s Missionary Union (WMU), the Timothy Group, Senior Adults Living Triumphantly (S.A.L.T. Bloc) and many other church ministries. Second to The Lord, Donna dearly loved her family. She enjoyed being a homemaker and would spend hours preparing huge family dinners. She especially enjoyed them during the holidays, when she made sure every detail was considered. Raised during the depression and rationing times of WWII, she adapted to a life of much thriftiness. Donna was an expert seamstress with great attention to detail. She took great pride in making Christmas stockings, plastic needle punch and latch hook rugs. She even made the flower girl and bridesmaids dresses for Nancy’s wedding.

Donna held many positions throughout her life, all defined by a desire to support those she loved. Her first job was at Toodle Dry Goods in St. Joseph, but shortly after moving to Kansas City she took a furlough to raise her family. During that time, she supplemented the family income by babysitting and serving as customer support manager for the family wood hauling business. She took great pride in having all the information organized and at her fingertips. Donna spent time as secretary of First Baptist Church in North Kansas City and finally finished her career at Boatmen’s Bank retiring in 1995. Even then she continued working at Boatmen’s for a few hours each month.

Throughout life Donna was an adventurous soul. Shortly after moving to Kansas City, she and her sister-in-law Phyllis spent time exploring every aspect of the city as their husbands worked during the evenings. Donna loved to travel with Richard, taking many trips to Hawaii, the Northeast, and the Northwest during his life. Donna and Richard were also members of the Northland Good Sams Camping Club and Campers on Mission. They greatly enjoyed these trips, making many lasting friendships. Perhaps more routine though were their coffee outings to McDonald’s, a daily trip they loved sharing together. After Richard’s passing, Donna enjoyed vacationing with Nancy and family to Florida and travelling to Colorado with Greg and his wife.

Donna loved a simple meal out with any, or all, of her family. She enjoyed her weekly errands with Nancy going wherever the day called, always anticipating the next stop. Donna was an avid shopper herself, spending many lunch hours throughout her life shopping for sales in search of great Christmas or birthday gifts. She loved a good mall, and her mother’s theory was that every event needed a new dress, shoes, and matching bag. A legacy she passed on to Nancy and her granddaughters.

Donna was preceded in death by her husband: Richard Carrel; parents: Don and Lena (Cook) Saunders; father and mother-in-law: Clay and Conne Mara Carrel; sisters: Jerry Schildknecht and Mary Lou Snyder; brother-in-law: Jimmy Snyder; and sister-in-law: Phyllis Bond.

She is survived by her daughter: Nancy (Gary) Clemens; son: Greg (Helen) Carrel; grandchildren: Jason (Sarah) Clemens, Brett (Colette) Clemens, Courtney (Solomon) Patterson, Julie (Brandon) Cobb, and Kate (Ted) Place; great grandchildren: Brylynn, Cora, and Brecken Clemens, Breece D. Patterson, Walter and Brooks Cobb, and Ben and Claire Place; brother-in-law Robert Schildknecht; nephews: Doug (Rita) Schildknecht, Shelly (Glenn) Wickham, Cindy (John) Crouse, Kenny (Lori) Snyder, Mike (Carol)Bond; and numerous cousins and friends.

A celebration of Donna’s life will be held at First Baptist Church, North Kansas City, MO on Wednesday April 16, 2025, service beginning at 10:30 a.m. with visitation and luncheon to immediately follow. Burial will be at Terrace Park Cemetery 801, NW 108th Street, Kansas City, MO 64155. Memorial contributions may be given to the Kitchen Ministry of the First Baptist Church of North Kansas City.