Donna Kay (Martin) Aquilina
February 15, 1949 - March 8, 2026
Donna Kay (Martin) Aquilina
February 15, 1949 - March 8, 2026
Donna Aquilina was born in Riverton, Wyoming alongside her very best friend and twin sister Debra Martin. Donna was born to her parents Davis and Wilma Martin, who welcomed the missing piece of their wonderful family, Michael Martin, roughly a year and a half later. Donna, Debbie, and Michael remained incredibly close throughout their lives, often speaking to one another several times a week if not every day.
After graduating from Riverton High School, Donna would meet the love of her life at Colorado State University, Charles "Chuck" Aquilina. One of the favorite stories from their dating years was that Donna and Chuck would go to a restaurant with a group of friends and Chuck would "calculate" what everyone owed. Sharp-witted and blissfully unaware of what Chuck was up to, Donna one evening did some auditing of Chuck's math and loudly pointed out Chuck had forgotten to count himself when splitting the bill. It was separate checks for everyone after that revelation. While they may have been opposites from different sides of the country and different world views, they were perfect complementary partners. Soon after they were married, the couple welcomed a daughter, Angela, and four years later a son, Patrick.
Donna was an amazing chef, baker, cookie and candy maker, and needed to be so to keep up with the seemingly never-ending appetites of Chuck and Patrick. In addition to her skills in the kitchen, Donna had impeccable taste in interior decorating. Donna travelled the country with Chuck as his career took them from Ohio to Idaho, Las Vegas to Maryland, Virginia to Atlanta. Donna was always the backbone of the family operation as they moved across the country. With each stop Donna fostered relationships making lifelong friends and creating a happy home for her family to enjoy.
While her primary focus was on family, Donna was no stranger to hard work outside the home and was able to adapt to any type of work environment. One of Donna's proudest moments was when she travelled to Washington D.C. after receiving a Presidential award for her community service while with the United States Department of Energy. She met with then US Senator for Idaho Steve Symms and attended the Points of Light ceremony founded by George H. W. Bush.
In their later years, Donna and Charles spent many happy years in the communities of Roswell, Georgia and Southport, North Carolina in the company of family and friends. Donna spent many happy days with her best friends travelling through the South, shopping for antiques, and making delicious toffee. She also loved travelling with her sisters in law including trips to Sicily. Donna loved spending time with her children and grandchildren, but most of all being with the most important person in her life, her husband Chuck. Donna was always creative through her life enjoying interior design and the creation of physical art such as sculptures.
Donna was preceded in death by her parents Davis and Wilma, her sister Debra, and her husband Charles. Donna is survived by her brother, Michael (Kate) Martin, sister-in-law Florence Aquilina, and brother-in-law Anthony (Renee) Aquilina; children Angela (Tim) Riley and Patrick (Mandy) Aquilina; grandchildren Davis, Samantha, Brendan, and Lily.
Funeral Services will be held at the Davis Funeral Home in Riverton, Wyoming on Saturday, April 4, 2026, at 10:00 am. A visitation of family and friends will be Friday evening, April 3, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. It is an organization founded by Maria Shriver to discover why Alzheimer’s affects women and to prepare them and their families by providing information and tools to help prevent the disease. https://thewomensalzheimersmovement.org/
Online condolences may be made to Donna’s family at www.TheDavisFuneralHome.com
Services are under the direction of the Davis Funeral Home of Riverton, Wyoming.