This past November we were saddened by the passing of longtime advocate Donna Wilkinson, whose longstanding friendship and support of the Science Center (as well as numerous nonprofits across the St. Louis region) will be missed.

For over two decades, Donna volunteered her time in service to the Science Center as a Commissioner, president of our Board of Trustees and our Institutional Advancement Committee Chair, and she ultimately became one of our few Life Trustees along with John McDonnell, Jerry Ritter and Des Lee.

But her commitment to our mission did not stop there. Donna was integral to the success of every fundraising campaign launched by the Science Center, from working with campaign chair Jerry Ritter as assistant chair to help secure $43 million for our Transform Tomorrow Campaign, to serving as the chair of the Bridge to the Future Campaign which ultimately raised in excess of $75 million, and she was tireless in her dedication. Donna also served as chair or member of every Science Center gala, always sharing her expertise to help make our biggest biennial fundraising event successful and vibrant.

Donna was also committed to helping establish the Youth Exploring Science (YES) Program, and she recognized the potential impact it could have in the community. Through funding from August Busch II and Jack Taylor, among other major donors, she made it possible for the YES Program to connect local students with informal science and technology learning. For over 20 years now, YES has continued to inspire area youth to pursue post-secondary education and careers in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) fields.

All of us at the Science Center are humbled by Donna’s service in support of our mission “to ignite and sustain lifelong science and technology learning” and how graciously she gave back to the community in which she lived.