Donna Jean Wayne Afra, 81, Saratoga, Calif

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 16, 2004

Donna Jean Wayne Afra died March 10, 2004, at St. Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco, Calif., after a long illness. She was 81 years old and a resident of Saratoga, Calif.

Born Nov. 28, 1922, in Albert Lea, she attended school in Albert Lea, graduating from the Albert Lea High School in 1940. She was graduated from the Albert Lea Junior College in 1942, and from the University of Minnesota in 1945, receiving a Bachelors Degree in linguistics. She found employment in New York City, and then in 1946 in post-war Europe, began working for the U.S. government in Berlin, Germany, and in Paris, France.

In 1949 she married Thomas Afra, a Hungarian national living in Paris. He was a native of Budapest, a scientist, and a concentration camp survivor. Accompanied by her husband, she returned to the United States in 1950, and lived in Colorado and Oklahoma, finally settling in Saratoga, Calif. Her last employment was with the U.S. Geological Survey where she worked for 10 years.

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She was preceded in death by her parents, Irvin and Georgiana “Jo” Wayne of Albert Lea; brother, Staff Sgt. Richard K Wayne, who perished in World War II; husband, Thomas Afra, who died in 1980; a nephew, Bruce Wayne; and a grand-nephew, Matthew Wayne Simonson.

She is survived by sisters: Betty (Thomas) Butsch of San Francisco, Calif., and

Beverly (Winston) Simonson of Prior Lake; brothers: Robert (Lisa) Wayne of San Jose, Calif., and Thomas (Earlene) Wayne of Los Gatos, Calif., 10 nieces and nephews; 15 grand-nieces and grand-nephews; aunts: Mrs. Ruby Wayne of Albert Lea, and Dorothy (Lee) Ackland of Apple Valley; and many relatives in Albert Lea and the Freeborn County area.

A private service was held in California.

Memorials are suggested for the Albert Lea Public Library, or the Freeborn County Historical Museum.