Donna Janet (Papousek) Fode, 86

Donna Janet (Papousek) Fode was born to Joseph B and Frances (Musilek) Papousek unexpectedly on the kitchen floor of their farmhouse south of Gregory, SD on July 29, 1929. She passed away May 30, 2016 at Cottagewood Senior Communities in Rochester, MN. She grew up on that farm with her 3 brothers and 1 sister: Agnes, Joseph C, Robert, and Louis.

Later, the family moved to Burke where Donna attended grade school then finished her 8th grade in Bennett, NE while living with her sister, Agnes. Donna went to work for Roy Hinze at the drugstore in Burke. She married Edwin Fode on January 11, 1948 and moved to Liberty, NE to run a cream station for a short amount of time before moving back to Gregory County to farm and be near their aging parents. To this union, 6 children were born.

After moving to Burke in 1957, Donna eventually cooked at the Hillcrest Cafe, American Legion in Gregory, and Webb’s Drive-In. They took over the Family Corner Drive-In in Burke from Glen and Gladys Wiedeman in 1968. In 1971, Edwin and Donna moved the drive-in to Bonesteel since Highway 18 was being expanded into their dining room. Together, they ran the Bonesteel Hotel and opened the new Family Corner Drive-In in 1972. For over 30 years, Donna hosted pheasant hunters from several states, lodging and feeding them. They also started the Over 50 Club in Bonesteel. In their later years, they bought a school bus that Donna converted into a mobile concession stand that was set up at Whetstone Bay on the Missouri River. She enjoyed selling bait, gas, and camping supplies to the fishermen as she caught her walleyes off the river bank in front of her silver and blue bus. During the winter, she tied fishing lures for a private label to earn some extra cash.

Donna was a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Burke and the Burke VFW Auxiliary. She loved cooking, canning anything there was to can, making homemade wine and beer, playing cards, Farkle, Scrabble, Cribbage, or Peg-It, and being with her ever-growing family. Mealtimes at her house were times when you were always welcomed and never left hungry. Everyone wanted to be at Grandma’s for the holidays.