Donna Kay Finney (May 7, 1958 – August 15, 2019) was born in Schenectady, New York as the middle child of five siblings and the youngest of three girls. She was a cute kid, a pretty teen, then a beautiful woman; popular, talented, athletic; competitive in sports and in business; a spicy wife and a doting mother to her two children.
Donna could draw. She drew exotic cars, portraits of children and sketches of houses, sometimes for pay, sometimes as gifts. She graduated from Notre Dame University in 1980 with a BFA in Industrial Design and went on to work for Fisher-Price, Playskool and herself designing toys, strollers and car seats for children.
Donna could sew. She made cozy garments for her siblings and family, clever Halloween costumes for her kids, her husband and herself, slipcovers for furniture (as part of her design business) and functional bags of various intriguing styles, sizes and colors.
Donna made pottery. She turned out mugs, bowls and platters of every size and description – even cookie stamps featuring her beloved sea turtle emblem.
Donna was athletic. And competitive. In grade school she was a cheerleader on a team which won and placed in state-level competitions; she was also an avid tennis player. In high school she was captain of her state champion cheerleading team, her tennis team and her gymnastics team. In college at NDU, when she discovered there was no gymnastics team, she formed a club which competed in interschool meets. After college, she took up racquetball, winning several championships while competing in local leagues.
Donna loved the water. She lived across the street, literally, from the Niagara River on Grand Island near Buffalo, and enjoyed windsurfing, waterskiing and sailing. At their condo in Florida she went kayaking whenever she could. She also enjoyed bicycling, cross-country skiing and playing volleyball.
Donna was a businesswoman. For 30 years she ran her own company, DKF Design, providing graphics and design services for consumer products. For Gerber, she created designs for more than 70 baby food containers; for Arctic Circle, she designed soft-sided coolers; for Gerry Baby Products, she designed strollers; she designed numerous child safety seats for automobiles. Business New York and Buffalo magazines featured her illustrations. “Visit Buffalo Niagara” named her Artisan of the Month in October 2016. She sold her pottery, her bags and other soft goods in retail shops, online and at craft shows, and also gave many of her delightful creations to family and friends as gifts.
Donna and I collaborated on the Perri the Poetry Fairy Activity Books – she illustrated the poems I wrote for children. We worked well together, in fact, it is the most satisfying and most creative experience I’ve ever had with her. The books have been very well received.
Donna died too soon of pancreatic cancer, a cruel disease. To honor her creative talent and energy, I am donating all proceeds from sales of these books to pancreatic cancer research, in her memory.