Donna L. McDaniel (née Bowen)

McDaniel—Donna L. McDaniel (née Bowen), 89, on July 9, 2024, peacefully, surrounded by family, in Southborough, Mass. Donna was born on October 28, 1934, the only child of James Bowen and Maxine Foster Bowen in Chicago, Ill. Donna’s early life was focused on education, from her days at St. Catherine Academy in Newport, R.I., to graduating cum laude in 1956 from Tufts University, to earning a master’s in education in guidance and counseling from Boston University.

Donna worked as a teacher and guidance counselor for the U.S. Department of Defense Schools in Japan and Germany. Coming back to the United States, Donna began her career as a journalist, writer, and editor, primarily at the Middlesex News in Framingham, Mass.

Donna made many contributions to The Villager of Southborough, Mass., the town in which she lived for nearly 50 years. In 1978, she was elected as its first female selectperson.

Music was a very important part of Donna’s life. She was a member of both the Boston Community Choir and Sharing a New Song, a group dedicated to bringing people of different cultures together via song. This led to visits to Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Cuba, and Africa.

Donna came to be a Quaker through her son Evan’s questions to her about religious faith during a period of personal turmoil in his late teens. She suggested that the two of them visit various religious services, which they did, and which included visiting the Friends meetinghouse in Framingham, Mass. After their visit, the Quaker faith became an important part of her life. Donna was a member of Framingham Meeting during the last 35 years of her life. She wrote widely on issues of racism and, along with Vanessa D. Julye, coauthored the book Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship: Quakers, African Americans, and the Myth of Racial Justice.

Donna is survived by two children, David Bowen McDaniel and Evan Paul McDaniel (Jessica); and six grandchildren.