Gwen "Lynette" Donatelli

HAMILTON - Gwen "Lynette" Donatelli 80, of Hamilton passed away Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011 at Valley View Estates. She was born Sept. 19, 1930 in Clay Center, Kansas, the daughter of the late Lester A. and Crystal (Howe) Ward.

Lynette grew up in Clay Center at the family home on 7th Street and graduated from Clay Center High School in 1948. Her parents owned Ward's Sporting Goods on Court Street where her father was a gunsmith and her mother made ceramics. She attended a Methodist College and was a teacher in a one room school house. Later, she worked in hospitals in both Kansas and California as a ward and surgery clerk. After Lynette's husband Joe passed away in California, she relocated to Hamilton and was a dedicated volunteer in the Corvallis elementary school. With her calm demeanor and patience, she helped many students improve their reading skills. She was known and loved as "Aunt Net" and made lots of cookies for the children. Lynette loved her extended family in the Corvallis United Methodist Church, attending services and participating in Bible study.

Lynette loved living in Hamilton because it reminded her of the hometown feel of Clay Center. She looked forward to her Friday shopping trips where she walked down Main Street getting her hair done, going to the drug store, the ice cream shop, and continuing on to the grocery store and making many friends along the way.

Lynette is survived by her sister Carol and her brothers Dan and Donald, and many nieces and nephews.