Donna Marie Plymesser

MADISON - Donna Marie Plymesser, aged 47, of Madison, departed this life on Tuesday, May 3, 2011, at the HospiceCare Center in Fitchburg, following a six-year battle with breast cancer. She was born on June 6, 1963 in Watertown, to Roseanne and Vernon Plymesser, the second of six children. Afflicted with spina bifida, she spent her first years at Central Wisconsin Center in Madison. When she was six years old, she joined the family of Bill and Helen Birkemeier in the Glen Oaks Hill area, attending Lapham and Glenn Stevens Elementary Schools, Jefferson Middle School and later graduating from James Madison Memorial High School. Donna took classes at MATC and worked as a clerk with the Department of Natural Resources and later as a greeter at K-Mart and at the Coliseum under the supervision of Goodwill Industries. In her last few years, she was an active member of Gilda’s Club where she had many friends. She is survived by sisters Susan Scheibe, of Milwaukee and Teresa Thorton, of Chicago; brothers, Paul Niemi of Washington, and Bill Plymesser; niece, Alexandra Scheibe; nephews, Joshua Scheibe and Damian Plymesser; her foster parents, Bill and Helen Birkemeier, of Spring Green; foster brothers, Richard of Norwalk, California and Jim, of Spring Green; foster sisters, Chris Hansen of Great Falls, Montana, Dianne Smith, of Weston, Missouri, and Catt Piotrowski of Madison; as well as foster nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Donna’s Life will be held at COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 326 S. Segoe Rd., Madison at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 28, 2011 with Rev. Betty Duff officiating. She was strong in her desire to live her life to the fullest and wrote these words in 1984: “Let me be me: I am who I am, a very special and unique person.” Memorials can be made to HospiceCare Inc. 5395 E. Cheryl Pkwy., Madison, WI 53711.