Donna Grieve Russell, 84, of Towson, Maryland, passed away peacefully on June 29, 2025 at Sinai Hospital surrounded by family.

Donna was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania in 1940 to Victor L. Grieve and Naomi Kaiser Grieve.  She grew up in Mont Alto, and graduated from Waynesboro High School in 1958.  She attended Wilson College, and graduated with honors from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in 1963.  She was a long-time member of Towson United Methodist Church, where she volunteered for many years as the Red Cross Blood Drive coordinator and was active with the Mission Work Area.

Donna was a talented dancer as a teen, performing in local shows, and was also proficient at piano and organ, often playing for nearby churches and events.  Growing up in a rural family with a love of the outdoors, she enjoyed hunting, fishing, hiking and camping, and spending time at the family’s two shared cabins.  She was close to her many aunts, uncles and cousins who lived nearby, and always enjoyed visiting with them at the Kaiser Family Reunions.

After completing her nursing degree, she worked as an RN at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Greater Baltimore Medical Center.  Eventually she chose to devote herself full-time to doting on her two children, and later her four grandchildren.  She loved to travel, with memorable trips to Jamaica, Bolivia, Mexico, Norway, Canada, Portugal, Spain and Morocco, many trips to London with her dear friend Pamela Mitchell, and to Colorado for adventures with family.  For many years she enjoyed lengthy annual stays at Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina, where she made several life-long friends, and accumulated a large collection of found sand dollars. 

She enjoyed playing mahjong and going to lunch with friends.  She loved caring for her many plants and flowers, and watching the deer and hummingbirds that frequented her window.  More than anything, she adored all of her grandchildren, and treasured every minute she could spend with them.

Donna is survived by her children Jeffrey Wilkinson and Laura Schroder, their spouses Caroline Wilkinson and Michael Schroder, her grandchildren Kimberly Wilkinson, Kevin Wilkinson, Caleb Schroder and Lydia Schroder, and a younger brother Robert Grieve.  She was preceded in death by her husband Dr. T. Edgie Russell, Jr..

Memorial contributions can be made to Impact Global Health Alliance or Manna House.