Obituary of Donna Woolley

Donna P. Woolley, Eugene businesswoman and Oregon philanthropist, died February 25, 2011 of heart failure. She was 85 years old. At the time of her death, she was President and CEO of Eagle's View Management Co. of Eugene & Woolley Enterprises, Inc. of Drain, Oregon. Donna was born January 3, 1926 to Chester and Mona Rydell of Drain. The family owned a turkey farm and it was Donna's chore to feed the birds. Her mother wouldn't let her wear pants even though, in an effort to get at the food, the birds frequently left her legs scratched and bloody. Reminiscent of Ginger Rodgers, Donna fed those birds as well as any man, except she wore a dress and did it walking backwards. Her first job was in pest eradication. Chester Rydell needed to rid his pasture of the rodent holes that put his sheep and cattle in danger of breaking a leg. He gave his daughter a .22 rifle and paid her five cents for every squirrel that she killed. Donna attended Drain High school, played on the school's volleyball team and graduated valedictorian in 1943. She began her career in the timber industry, first as secretary/bookkeeper at a competing firm and beginning in 1944 at Woolley Logging Company. She married Harold Woolley on December 27, 1952. As a couple they camped, hunted and fished from Montana to the Brooks Range, Alaska; throughout Oregon and along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, Idaho. They were founders of the Pacific Trapshooting Association. Harold served as president of the association while Donna was ranked one of the top ten trapshooters in the United States. They shared a love of baseball. The 1958 Drain Black Sox, sponsored by Woolley Logging Company, took a regular season record of 54-4 to the National Baseball Congress tournament held in Wichita, Kansas. The team went undefeated through seven games. As Oregon's first and only National Baseball Congress champions, the team was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Throughout her life, Donna sponsored baseball teams as an opportunity for young adults to continue to play the game; most recently the Lane Community College team and the Springfield "Woolley Bullies". Harold died in 1970 leaving Donna as the sole provider for three young children and the CEO of Woolley Logging Company. She expanded the firm, which at its peak, operated three mills and employed 500 workers. She became the first woman member of the American Plywood Association Donna believed in people, always took the time to meet with them and discuss their project or cause. When asked why she continued to take the time, she said, "You never know what you may learn". To that end, she was an avid angel investor for many budding entrepreneurs. In 1980, Donna began to diversify from the company's base in the timber industry into commercial real estate and hospitality. In recognition of her business successes, she was asked to serve on the boards of the Associated Industries of Oregon, World Forestry Center, Oregon Forest Industries and the Advisory Board of the Bureau of Land Management, Roseburg District. Donna was keenly aware of the importance of education at all levels and served as a trustee of Linfield College, and on the advisory boards of Marylhurst College and the Eugene Relief Nursery, a preschool for children who are in danger of abuse. She tackled some of the most difficult issues in education while serving on the Douglas County Budget Board (9 years); North Douglas School Board (14 years); and Umpqua Community College Budget Board (4 years). There was a special place in her heart for the University of Oregon, both on and off the court. She served as a trustee of the University of Oregon Foundation; on advisory boards at the Lundquist College of Business and the Museum of Natural History. If it was an autumn Saturday, Donna was at Autzen Stadium for home football games. During winter, she could be found at both men's and women's basketball games in a section near the bench. In the mid 70s, Donna served on the UO committee that toured basketball facilities at other universities to prepare for construction of a new arena; and she contributed one of the first donations for the project. From Ronnie Lee to Jody Runge, the players and coaches were her Ducks and she wanted them to have the best. One of her last outings was to attend the first men's game at the new Matthew Knight Arena. In 1980 the University honored her with the Oregon Pioneer Award. It was the first among many awards she later received. In 2000 she received the Eugene Chamber of Commerce "First Citizen" award and the Drain Chamber of Commerce 'Friend of the Community" award. In 2001 Lewis and Clark College honored her with the Aubrey Watzek Award for her civic leadership and for her pioneering accomplishments as a woman in the timber industry. That same year, she was awarded the Howard Vollum Award for Philanthropy. If to be a community volunteer is to be a steward of a neighborhood or town, then Donna Woolley's neighborhood was the entire State of Oregon. She served on the Oregon Community Foundation Board from 1990 to 1999 and as its chair from 1997-1999. Donna traveled throughout the state on behalf of the foundation and held dozens of town meetings with Greg Chailleacute;, president of the foundation, to promote philanthropy and to listen to citizens about their community needs. "She provided strong leadership as the foundation grew significantly during her tenure on the board", said Chailleacute;. "She was a promoter of the concept of everyone giving what they can back to their community and was one of our most active board members over the foundation's 37 years of operation". Donna never retired. While she rebelliously accepted that certain activities were no longer on her schedule, she learned to transition one passion into another. She continued her involvement with the World Forestry Center and enjoyed traveling with WFC members to visit forests all over the world. Among her more interesting adventures with the group was a boat trip on the Volga River during the Russian coup of 1991. With her hunting days behind her, Donna picked up a camera and took her love of the outdoors to Africa. It was exotic, different and thrilling. She first traveled to the big game parks with Wildlife Safari Director Frank Hart and his wife Barbara. As she learned more about endangered species and the cheetah breeding program at Wildlife Safari, she was "totally hooked". She served on the park's board eventually becoming its chairman and she returned to Africa with the Wildlife Safari staff several times. She attended board meetings until shortly before her death. It was her goal to get healthy and go to Africa one last time. Her bag was packed and her traveler's checks ready to go. Donna Woolley is survived by three children Daniel (Chantel) of Drain; Debra Lee (Doug) and Donald (Dolly), both of Eugene; and fourteen grandchildren. A Celebration of Life is planned for 2:00 p.m., Saturday, April 2, 2011 at The Shedd located at 868 High Street, Eugene, Oregon (East Broadway & High Street). In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Wildlife Safari, PO Box 1600, Winston, OR 97496.