Donna Jean Melugin

Donna Jean Melugin, 78, of Pryor, went to be with her heavenly father on Friday, September 16, 2022 in Claremore with her family by her side. She was born to John William and Willie Maxine (Kinzer) Wolf on November 23, 1943 in Oklahoma City. She spent the first 13 years of her life living in Norman where she attended Woodrow Wilson Elementary School before moving to Pryor in 1956. Donna continued excelling in her education while attending Pryor High School. She was always an excellent student and continued making a perfect GPA through college. It was in Pryor that she met the love of her life, Duane Melugin, when she sang at his graduation. They were married in 1961 and enjoyed 61 years together until his death in April of 2022. Donna started her career working as a cosmetologist, a skillset she would continue using on children and grandchildren for the rest of her life. She became an instructor in cosmetology and taught at Admiral Beauty School in Tulsa where she discovered a love of teaching. This led her to attend Northeastern State University to study education. After graduation, she became a teacher at Jefferson Elementary School where she would teach for 32 years until her retirement. She was a member of Beta Sigma Phi and Kappa Kappa Iota sororities through which she frequently volunteered in the community. Donna was a lifelong learner, however, and was not content to end her education there. With her friend Ruth Walters, Donna would go on to complete the coursework to become a certified nurse's assistant as well as earning her private investigation license. Though neither of these became her career, Ruth and Donna did complete several investigations under the banner of R & D Investigations, the contents of which remain highly classified to this day. In addition to her academic pursuit, Donna was a lover and practitioner of the arts. She was an accomplished singer who participated in several choirs and quartets as well as being a guitar and banjo player. Donna was also a painter, with many of her oil on canvas paintings hanging on the walls of her family's and friend’s homes. Donna attended Pleasant View Baptist Church and had a deep abiding love for the Lord. She shared this love with her family who will always fondly remember Donna’s voice leading them in the Lord’s Prayer whenever the family gathered. Donna traveled widely with family and friends exploring the world from Alaska to Hawaii, to Mexico, and most places in between. She delighted in her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren and to the end she never missed an opportunity to send a card on a holiday, make a phone call on a birthday, or just to let someone know that they were loved. She touched the lives of her family, friends, and countless students, who will always cherish their memories of her.