Service Details
A celebration of Donna’s life will be held on Friday, July 11, 2024, 12:00pm, at Draeger-Langendorf Funeral Home and Crematory, 4600 County Line Road, Mount Pleasant. Visitation will be from 10:00 am until the time of the service. She will be interred with her husband at Southern Wisconsin Cemetery in Union Grove at another time.
Memorial Suggestions
Memorials in Donna J. Bedard’s name have been suggested to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation or Alzheimer’s Association.
Mrs. Donna Jean (Poorman) Bedard, 87, passed away peacefully in her home on May 25, 2025 with her daughter Beth O’Keefe by her side.
She was born in Hutsonville, Illinois in the farmhouse she was brought up in on June 11, 1937, the daughter of John A and Marjorie (nee: Jackson) Poorman. She graduated from Robinson High School in 1955. After graduation, she attended Lockyear Business School in Evansville, Indiana. After graduating, she took a position at Mead Johnson in Evansville. In approximately 1960, she moved to Racine, Wisconsin to work at S.C. Johnson Wax. It was there she met the love of her life, Alfred F. Bedard. On October 9, 1965, they were married at St. Sebastian Catholic Church, Sturtevant, Wisconsin.
Mrs. Bedard attended Christ Church United Methodist (Racine) and served the church by making and delivering food to the less fortunate. In 1967, she gave birth to her daughter and only child Beth and devoted her life to homemaking and her family. She had many interests including genealogy, traveling, gardening, reading the newspaper from front to back, dining out, scratch offs, playing cards, antiquing with her husband and brother and most importantly her grandchildren. Her greatest joy was finding articles in the newspaper, clipping them and then sharing them with those she thought could benefit from the wisdom in each article. Many had the pleasure of playing Hearts with her. She was fiercely competitive but not much of a poker face.
She is survived by her daughter Beth (Thomas) O’Keefe; grandchildren, Bridget and Evan O’Keefe all of South Burlington VT; her sisters in law, Patricia Poorman of Fort Wayne, IN and Chris Poorman of Union Grove, WI and many nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Bedard was preceded in death by her husband, Alfred, brothers, Edwin Porrman, John D Poorman, sister Marianne Level, sisters in law Vivian (John) Zember, Laverne (Bud) Hoglund, Ruth (James) Bruno, Carol (Marty) James and brother-in-law Arthur Bedard.
Sharon Noon says
Donna Jean was a pleasure to spend time with and hear her stories. Her love of family was evident when sharing genealogy a history for sure. Lunch dates with Donna Jean and Marianne would always leave me chuckling.
I regret I won’t be able to attend her funeral; a celebration of her life, but I will be there in spirit. Blessings to all.