Donna Irene Lucas

Donna Lipper
February 27, 1928 - January 19, 2022
Sacramento, California - Donna Irene Lipper, long-time resident of Sacramento and La Jolla, CA, died of natural causes January 19 in Sacramento. She was 93.  A woman of strength, conviction and wit, she was a devoted wife and mother, raising four children. She worked in the California State Legislature during the 1940s, taught school and was active in community and social endeavors. She called New Rochelle, Sacramento, Pasadena and La Jolla home during her lifetime. She made lifelong friends in every location.
An avid bridge player, golfer and San Diego Padres fan, Donna fulfilled her lifelong dream to travel the world through visits to the Far East, London, Paris, Rome and especially a leisurely journey through Ireland, her family's ancestral home. Traveling on the Concorde was a particular thrill.
To her family and friends, she offered a steady positive outlook. She moved through life with elegance and style. When a choice was necessary, she invariably chose fun – preferably with a vodka martini and an olive. She regularly served up strong opinions and well-observed insights, offering frank and valuable advice. She was astute with an impish humor that guided her through many challenging situations.
Born in Amarillo, Texas, Donna was the oldest of three children to her mother, Donnie Mae, a schoolteacher, and her father James Michael Kernan, a Yale-educated lawyer and professional athlete who was signed by the New York Giants.  As a young girl, Donna and her family lived throughout Texas and Oklahoma, as well as upstate New York and Richmond, California before settling down in Sacramento. She often attributed her lifelong gift for making friends to the fact that she attended 13 schools during her youth as her family crisscrossed the country for work during the Great Depression.
Donna attended the University of California at Berkeley and took her college degree in History at the College of the Holy Names in nearby Oakland.
In the 1940's, Donna worked as a secretary in the Legislature for Sen. Earl Desmond of Elk Grove. She also worked for Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas, one of the first women elected to public office.
While working in the Legislature, Donna met Joseph (Joe) Lipper, a Rochester and Stanford University-educated newspaper reporter and bureau chief for the Associated Press. They married at Holy Spirit Church in 1951, settled into life in Sacramento. Four children followed.
Her husband's job with Aerojet General took her from Sacramento to New Rochelle, NY, then to Pasadena, and to La Jolla, CA. She returned to Sacramento in 2018.
Everywhere she lived, Donna participated in social and civic activities. In Sacramento, she was active with the Loyola Guild. In Pasadena, she participated in the Assistance League and was a substitute teacher in the Pasadena Unified school district.
When she moved to La Jolla, she was an active member of the La Jolla Country Club and its Happy Hackers golf group and participated in several local charitable and social organizations including the La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art.
During the season at Del Mar Racetrack, she could commonly be found at a front row table at the Turf Club.
Baseball was a lifelong passion. She attended Padres games in person when she could and, when she couldn't, paid for an online subscription to ensure she could view every game. Another love was her irascible mutt named Gigi.
She took tremendous delight in doting on her grandchildren and nieces and nephews. She was a valued and loyal friend and her friendships shaped her and her family's life in profound and lasting ways.
Donna often reflected that she had lived a full, happy life and enjoyed every minute of it. She was able to do so nearly until her last days. She passed away surrounded by family. She is deeply missed by her family and the legions of friends—of all ages—she touched in her life.
Donna was pre-deceased by her parents, her brothers, Thomas and James Kernan, and her husband, Joseph.
She is survived by her four children, Laurie Lipper (Lawrence M. Kirk Jr.), Kernan William Lipper (Susan Lipper), Leslie Lipper (Maurizio Lupini), and Donna Louise Lucas (Greg Lucas) and six grandchildren: Joseph J. Lipper, Patricia M. Lipper, Katherine I. Lucas, Lawrence M. Kirk 3rd, Thomas K. Lipper and Natalya L. Kirk.  The family thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers and for the many fulfilling and warm friendships Donna found at River's Edge in Sacramento.
A Funeral Mass will be held Friday May 6, 1 p.m. at Our Lady of Assumption, 5057 Cottage Way, Carmichael, CA.
In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to Sutter Medical Center Foundation - Hospice Fund (in Memory of Donna Lipper) https://sutterhealth.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donate.event&eventID=527
Or by mail to Sutter Medical Center Foundation – Hospice Fund, P.O. Box 160045, Sacramento, CA 95816.
Hospice care not only helps patients live out their lives with dignity and comfort but eases the emotional, physical and financial burdens end-of-life-care places on family and friends.
Or please consider a gift to:
Mustard Seed School in Memory of Donna Lipper: https://sacloaves.org/mustard-seed-school/