Donna Marie Bingham passed away at home on Sunday, January 11, 2015, at the age of 77 from complications of cigarette smoking. She was born at home in Dow City on Easter Sunday, March 28, 1937, daughter of Howard and Opal Metcalf Beaman. She was the sibling of Larry Beaman, Joan Tufly, and baby Thelma (who are now deceased); Howard Beaman, Jr., Darlyne Mullin of Council Bluffs. She attended a country school through the eighth grade. She graduated from Mondamin High School in 1955.
Donna married Dwayne Clifford Sink in 1956. They began their family in 1957 with the birth of the first of their four children, Patty Sink Fisher of Colorado, Bryan (Corrie) Sink of Cedar Falls, Kathy Sink Siems (Craig Bartels) of Cedar Falls and Bob Sink (Teresa) of Sanger, Texas. A baby boy was stillborn in 1959. Together, she and Dwayne owned and operated Speedy Delivery Service in Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, and Cedar Falls from 1966 until his death in 1973. Donna then continued to operate the business herself. In 1975, she hired and subsequently married Donald "Bing" Bingham in Waterloo. That union added three more children to Donna's family: Brad (Barb) Bingham of Missouri, Julie (C.J) Glover of Oregon, and Sheila (Mike) Kobliska of Cedar Falls.
In 1985 Donna sold her business and began her decade-long employment with the University of Northern Iowa Mail Center. She retired from UNI in 1995. In addition to her children, Donna leaves behind eighteen grandchildren, twenty-two great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren, whom she loved dearly. Donna was a farmer's daughter, a biker's wife, and a lover of babies and slot machines. In her younger days she loved drinking her coffee, smoking her cigarettes, rearranging her furniture while listening to true country-western music. As she aged she enjoyed walking, word search puzzles, and jigsaw puzzles. She enjoyed volunteering at the NewAldaya Country Store from 2012-2014. She was as strong in spirit as she was in body. Services will be held on Jan. 24 at 11 a.m. at NewAldaya Chapel followed by lunch and fellowship at NewAldaya Main Street. A private family burial will be at Hillside Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be directed to Cedar Valley Hospice, Habitat for Humanity, or The United Way. Dahl-Van Hove-Schoof Funeral is assisting the family.