Eldonna Joy Deaver of Richmond, Indiana, entered the presence of her Savior on July 10, 2020, after a brief battle with leukemia. Born on August 10, 1949, to Donal Wayne and Edith Mae (Fry) Doty in Logansport, Indiana, she graduated from Logansport High School in 1967. On February 1, 1969, she married Stephen M. Deaver.
Eldonna held several positions in her life, but none so special as wife, mother and grandmother. Along the way she received her associate degree from IVY Tech in 1984 and her bachelor’s degree from IUPUI in 2004. A lifelong Methodist, Eldonna served in church throughout her life, including in the nursery and as church secretary.
Eldonna is survived by her children, Liesl, Ian (Jennifer), Derek and Stephen (Candace), all of Richmond, and “adopted” daughter Valerie Birdsong of Bloomington, her grandchildren Stephen, Matthew, Penelope and “adopted” granddaughter Lindsey Evans, siblings Lorraine Doty of Pendleton, James Doty (Alice) of Bedford and David Doty (Teresa) of Crawfordsville, and stepmother Loretta Doty of Monticello, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and her fur baby, Kolton. Eldonna is preceded in death by her husband Stephen and her parents Donal and Edith Doty.
A graveside service for Eldonna will be held on August 22, 2020, at 2 p.m. at the Camden Cemetery in Camden, Indiana, with the Reverend Liesl Deaver officiating.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Eldonna’s name to the Evangelical Methodist Church International (emchurch.org) or HELP the Animals, Inc., Richmond, Indiana (helptheanimalsinc.com).