Donna Jean Stuck

To view a livestream of the service access https://www.youtube.com/@ZionMinot/streams

Donna Jean Stuck, 89, longtime Minot resident, died on Monday, May 19, 2025, in Minot, with her daughters by her side.

Donna Jean was born on December 8, 1935, in Minot to Clinton and Nellie (Hovey) Selk.  She grew up in Minot among her many Selk and Hovey cousins and aunts and uncles.  She loved to ice skate on the rink near her home in Northeast Minot.  In 1954, she graduated from Minot High School.  She continued her education at Minot State Teachers College, where she was Homecoming Queen and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education in 1958.  She took her first job teaching sixth grade in Great Falls, Montana.

Donna Jean met her future husband John, an Air Force pilot, in a church social group in Great Falls.  She married John on July 30, 1960, at Zion Lutheran Church in Minot.  They made their home and raised three children wherever John was stationed, including Montana, Louisiana, Michigan, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and North Dakota, where they settled after John retired.  The Lutheran church was a big part of their life and they made strong connections in their church communities everywhere they lived.  She kept in touch with her many friends (including her close high school friends, the “Nifty Nine”) through round robin letters, regular correspondence, and reunions.  

Donna Jean was an avid cook, as was her mother.  She constantly experimented with new recipes but also enjoyed making her favorites including many delicious dishes from her Scandinavian heritage.  She grew up making donuts with her mother and continued the tradition with her children and grandchildren. 

She also loved to sew.  For 29 years she was a sales representative for Leiter’s Fabrics, which sold designer fabrics by mail through networks of representatives who showed samples to their network of customers.  This allowed her to indulge in her passion for fabrics and to have a career that she could carry from place to place as she moved with John and her family.  She was often her own best customer.  Once she settled permanently in Minot, Donna Jean and her sister Judy opened the Bernina Stitch Niche store in Minot in 1976 to sell sewing machines and sewing accessories.  She entered home-sewn items in the State Fair for many years (and often won!).

In retirement, Donna Jean and John continued to make their home in Minot and travelled extensively in their RV.  Donna Jean embraced exercise classes and made many new friends.

John died on October 29, 2012.  In 2020, Donna Jean reluctantly moved to Somerset Court Assisted Living (just as COVID set in) and eventually to Edgewood Vista Memory Care.  She delighted in meeting people and enjoyed the rich social life in her assisted living residences.  In the last few years, she benefited from the wonderful and loving care she received at Edgewood and from Sheryl Cameron.

Donna Jean was an active member of Zion Lutheran Church where she was involved as a Sunday School teacher, on the Church Council, and in women’s organizations.  She was a frequent volunteer at church events and loved helping out at the annual Höstfest.

Donna Jean’s loving family includes her children:  Garrett Stuck (Pamela Coravos) of Newton, MA; Kristi (Mark) Johnson of Fargo, ND; and Kaaren Stuck (James Cross) of Minot; grandchildren:  Jonathan Stuck Coravos (Laura Franklin), Catherine Stuck Coravos, Matthew (Melanie) Johnson, Megan (Michael) Cassidy, Brady (Elizabeth) Johnson, Ian Cross (Lillie Haxton – fiancée) and Shelby Cross (Jake Mason); great grandchildren:  Maren, Marlow and Mack Cassidy and Maverick and McCoy Johnson; sister: Judy Teets and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Donna Jean was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her sister Marvel Foster and her brother-in-law Gary Teets.

Celebration of the Life of Donna Jean Stuck: Monday, May 26, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. in Zion Lutheran Church, Minot.  To view a livestream of the service access https://www.youtube.com/@ZionMinot/streams
Interment will be in Rosehill Memorial Park in Minot on Tuesday at 9am.
Visitation:  Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Thomas Family Funeral Home – Minot
Memorials are preferred to Zion Lutheran Church, Great Plains Food Bank and the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch.

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