Donna Hawes

1946 - 2026

Donna Carol Hawes of Cochrane, passed away in Taber on Monday, August 31, 2026 at the age of 80 years.

Donna is survived by her daughters Tawnia (Travis) Jobin of Golden, British Columbia and their children Ella and Finni; Leesha Mafuru of Taber and her children Oasis, Zion and Kweli; sister Nancy DeShane; nephews Mark (Roxanne) DeShane and Paul (JoAnn) DeShane; niece Peggy-Ann (Dexter) Newton; niece-in-law Pam DeShane as well an many great nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her husband Michael Baranosky; father William “Bill” Howitt; mother Lorna Clark and nephew Dave DeShane.

Donna was born January 19, 1946 in Toronto and raised in Guelph, Ontario where she earned her degree in compter science (Waterloo). As a young woman, she moved to western Canada where her two daughters were born and raised. She worked as a school teacher and guidance counsellor before moving to Cochrane in 1986, where she began a successful career as a real estate agent. Donna went on to own, broker and manage the company, Royal LePage Allstar, until her retirement in 2010. She was an active member of the Cochrane community. Donna served on many boards and committees including the Legion, Rotary Club, Real Estate Board, and Cochrane Figure Skating Club to name a few. She loved to travel and visited many continents including Africa, South America, Europe and Asia. Donna loved spending time with family and friends and loved a good game of crib, shuffleboard, or cards. The life of the party, she loved music, dancing, joking, lively discussion, and a glass of wine.

Donna was endlessly loving and supportive and will be dearly missed.

The celebration of Donna’ s life will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion, 114 - 5 Avenue, Cochrane of Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 11:30 A.M.

If friends so desire, memorial tributes in Donna’s name may be made directly to the Royal Canadian Legion, 114 - 5 Avenue, Cochrane, Alberta T4C 1A5, the Canadian Cancer Society, 200, 325 Manning Road NE, Calgary, Alberta T2E 2P5 www.cancer.ca or to the Taber and District Health Foundation, 4326 - 50 Avenue, Taber, Alberta T1G 1N9 www.tdhf.ca.