DONNA MARIE (SIEVE) MENKE, age 96, of Worthington, died Saturday, January 10, 2026, at the Sunset Hospice Cottage in Worthington. She was born on June 6, 1929 in Worthington, the daughter of Joseph and Mildred (Busch) Sieve. She was the oldest of five children with siblings, JoAnn, Leona, Norma and John. Donna attended Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic School for eleven years and spent her senior year at Worthington High School where she was a 1947 graduate. After high school, she worked in retail in Worthington.

Donna met Alphonse "Phonse" Menke through a family member and they were later married on June 21, 1949 in Wilmont, MN. They rented a farm in Wilmont until they were able to purchase their own farm four miles northwest of Wilmont in 1959. They farmed there until their retirement. She and Alphonse had four children, Marvin, Steven, Sheila and Michele.

She was a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Wilmont, until they moved to Worthington in 1984. She is currently a member of St. Mary Catholic Church in Worthington and was a member of the choir. Donna also helped with funeral lunches and other church activities at both churches. She enjoyed playing cards, traveling, dancing to Old Time music, playing the keyboard of which she was self-taught in her late 50's, and was involved with the Ladies VFW Auxiliary and the Project Group. After retirement, she and her husband enjoyed spending the winter months in Texas and later in Arizona.

Donna is survived by her four children, Marvin (Donna) Menke of Topeka, Kansas; Steven (Vickie) Menke of Rochester, Minnesota; Sheila (Don) Friedman of Sioux Falls, SD; and Michele (Bob) Budin of Rosemount, Minnesota; eight grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; two sisters, Leona (Roger) Lewis of Worthington; and Norma (Ed) Johanning of Worthington; and sister-in-law, Ruth Sieve of Worthington.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Alphonse Menke in December of 2022. They shared 73 years of marriage at the time of his passing; sister, JoAnn; and her brother, John Sieve.

Visitation will be from 4-7 pm Friday, Jan. 16, with Parish Prayers at 4 pm, at the Dingmann Funeral Home in Worthington. Visitation also one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday. Funeral Mass will be 10:30 am Saturday at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, in Wilmont, officiated by Monsignor Richard Colletti and Deacon Vern Behrends. Burial will be in the Calvary Cemetery in Wilmont.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Ecumen Meadows Bus Fund or the Sunset Hospice Cottage.

To livestream Donna's funeral please visit  http://www.facebook.com/DingmannFH