The Roman family announces with great sadness and heavy hearts the loss of our beloved wife and mother, Donna, age 72, on January 27, 2021 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She passed away peacefully after a valiant battle with various health issues.
She is survived by her high school sweetheart and husband of 51 years, Gerhard (Sonny) Roman, sons Gerhard Roman Jr. (Lori), Matthew (Karen), Michael (Corina), daughter Heather Burkey (Gene), four grandchildren, Nathaniel, Talia, Max, and Damitrias, as well as her sisters Bertha Leister (Terry), Brenda Hibbs (David), Beatrice Fell (Keith), Christina Strickland (Jeffrey), and brothers Alex (Brenda), Peter, and Donald (Kelly).
She was preceded in death by her mother Beatrice (2020), her father Donald (2015), and her brother Charles (2013).
Donna Lois Roman was born the oldest of nine on November 29, 1948 in Orange County, New York. As the oldest, it was Donna’s job to help take care of her younger siblings. She learned to cook and enjoyed making meals for others. Despite the age gap from oldest to youngest, the sprightly bunch were thick as thieves, and remain so to this day. As Donna and her sisters grew into their teens, they would argue over whose clothes were whose.
In 1964, the rambunctious Hardy clan moved to Perkasie, Pennsylvania, where they planted their roots. Donna attended Pennridge High School, and in 1965 the stars aligned and she met her soul mate, Gerhard Roman. (She always told everyone that Sonny stalked her, but according to other sources it was actually the other way around.) The rest, as they say, is history—but here’s a brief synopsis of what happened after that. Donna and Sonny married 4 years later, in 1969, moved to Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and then to Spotsylvania, Virginia, before settling in Leola, Pennsylvania, where they raised four children, taught them right from wrong, got them a dog, took them fishing, showed them how to garden, and how to be kind to others.
Donna owned a restaurant, spent time as a truck dispatcher, and worked at the Johnson & Johnson company store before finally retiring. She enjoyed singing, dancing, and going to see live music. She had a corny sense of humor, was immensely proud of her children, loved taking her grandchildren on trips, and was happiest when surrounded by the sounds of a busy household. For 51 years, she and Sonny weathered the storms that come with every marriage, and through it all they remained best friends and were still filled with so much love for one another. Sonny says she was the one person he trusted most in his life. Donna will be fondly missed for her compassion for friends in need, her thoughtfulness, her companionship on road trips, and so much more.