Donna Steele Cooper, born March 27, 1942, in Granite, Oklahoma, passed peacefully on Sunday, November 9, 2025, at her home in Hays, Kansas.
In her 83 years, Donna touched many lives with her curiosity, pedagogy, and contagious enthusiasm for nature. She was a much cherished wife, mother, sister, aunt, and grandmother.
She is survived by her adoring husband, Mike; her sons, Chris and Mark, and their respective spouses, Cathryn and Jane; her sister Ruth; and Chris and Cathryn’s daughters, Maddy and Ansley.
Donna and Mike attended high school together in Chickasha, Oklahoma, but found their love for one another during their college years. They married in 1964, moving to Hays, Kansas, in 1967, where they made a wonderful home, raising their two sons, and enjoying a long, devoted, and loving marriage.
With an always curious mind, Donna excelled at all she attempted, receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology from Oklahoma College for Women, and was later offered scholarships at Baylor University and Kansas University Medical School, ultimately choosing to pursue a master’s degree from Fort Hays State University. Throughout her subsequent teaching career, she won multiple awards, including the Kansas Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.
Donna was a highly regarded member of the Hays community, having taught biology at Hays High School for 44 years, the longest tenure of any Hays High School teacher to date. Under her skilled guidance, the girls tennis team brought the first and only State Tennis Championship to Hays High School. Donna’s passion for teaching and the environment was profound. She could frequently be found in her garden, or carefully cultivated outdoor classroom, and relished joining her students to wade in the creeks of Ellis County and explore the prairie in pursuit of all manner of flora and fauna. No reptile was too elusive, grass too non-descript, nor bird too common to escape Donna’s attention, and this enthusiastic dedication to understanding every facet of the natural world was contagious, leaving countless students and friends with a deep love and respect for nature and the environment.
Donna was diagnosed with ALS in May of 2024 and faced the realities of the disease with her trademark perseverance, stubbornly pushing on through every new challenge. Her passing leaves a large hole in the lives of her family, her many friends, and her former students, to whom she was such a source of inspiration. She will be sorely missed.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 15, 2025, at Hays First United Methodist Church with Rev. Dr. Susan Murithi officiating.
Burial will follow in Fort Hays Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1:00 pm until service time on Saturday at the church.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hays Symphony Guild, Hays Arts Council, the Community Assistance Center, First Call for Help, or to Hays First United Methodist Church, all of which were causes that Donna cared deeply about.
Services are in the care of Hays Memorial Chapel Funeral Home and condolences and memories of Donna may be left for her family at www.haysmemorial.com.