Dawn Donker

Dawn Donker was born on Feb. 27, 1962, in Platte, SD.  I was the third child of 4 in my family.  My parents had a small dairy farm and raised stock cows, hogs, chickens, and horses.  I was brought up in the Christian Reformed Church, where we went to church, Sunday school, and learned Catechism.  I was in 4-H, FFA, and FHA.  I went to Platte High School, and during that time I worked part-time for the local veterinarian.  After graduation, I worked for SD tourism for one summer.  When I came home I started dating my husband-to-be Myron (Mike), was married a year or so later.  We moved south east of White Lake on my husband’s family farm south east of White Lake, SD, and farmed, raised sheep, cattle, and 1 milk cow.  We were blessed with 3 children, Matthew, Benjamin, and Kate.  I worked with my husband along with my garden and canning.  I have worked various part-time jobs for almost 20 years; a sale-barn café, a caregiver, a grocery store, a locker, and a cleaning company.

Our children are grown and married. Matt and Rachel have 2 boys, Cole and Lane who live at rural Stickney.  Ben and Calsie have 2 young children, Brayden and Aleigha who live in rural White Lake.  Kate and Brandon live south of Burke with their 2 daughters, Kaisley and Braylee.  We are so blessed with our family and having them close by Grandma gets a lot of “Grandma Time” with them, and I help where I can.

An achievement that I think of is at age 50 my daughter and my sister got me started training for half marathons.  During those years, I have ran several half marathons and a trail run in the Black Hills. 

I am proud to be a Charter Member of the Aurora/Douglas Republican Women,  a friend called me and asked me to join which has been a life-changing event for me, and looking forward to see where it leads me.  It has been a privilege for me to work side by side with these incredible women and have learned so much.  Being an American makes me very proud and is very important to me and wants to give back somehow.  The State meetings are so refreshing, getting to know like-minded Christian Women who love Jesus, their families, and the unborn.  That is what we strive for in the Republican Party.  I have many favorite Republicans, but what matters most to me is if they put Christ first in all they do and speak.  We as citizens of this state and country, must always remember to pray for our leaders.

My favorite scripture is found in Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and Strength, an ever-present help in trouble” The whole Psalm is reassuring to me.