Dona Little Wolf

It was a bloody good life:

Dona Little Wolf was born to Jack and Margaret Corner in Wychitella, Vic- toria, Australia on March 8, 1923. Jack, so happy to have his first child, stopped at a few pubs on his way to town to register Dona's birth so that by the time he arrived at City Hall it was March 10. Jack reckoned that birthdate was as good as any.

Dona had three sisters, Joy McLaugh- lin, Ail e e n Frost and Joanne Corner, all of whom preceded her in death.

Dona was a tomboy, be- ing the son Jack never had. Her dad taught her to ride, shoot, build fence, gamble and smoke.

Much of her early life was encompassed by the Depression and hard times. At about the age of 14 Dona left school to be a seamstress, a trade for which she had a talent and a knack for knowing how that stayed with her.

During WWII, Dona met Earl Reynolds, a merchant marine, at a party in Melbourne. A romance blos- somed and they were mar- ried via short wave radio in 1946. Dona and Earl had a son, Garry Lee Reyn- olds. Jack and Margret took Earl and Dona with baby Garry on board to the outback where they spent many months building fence. They lived in tents, bathed in the rivers with the water snakes and crocs, had nighttime visits from the wild boars and water buffalo and ate a lot of kangaroo stew. After that, Dona, Earl and Garry moved to the United States and set up house in Pocatello, Idaho. She and Earl divorced a few years later. Earl and Garry remained in Idaho. Today Garry is an attorney in Herm- iston, Oregon and a retired Cir- cuit Court Judge

Upon her return to Australia, Dona opened a dressmaking shop. Before long, she had a large clientele: society matrons, debutantes, brides and some dandies all came through her door. Dona said her best cus- tomers, however, were the working girls as they paid in cash, never came back for alterations and always left a good tip.

In 1956, Dona attended a dinner dance in Melbourne. The guest of honor was Big Chief Little Wolf, a Navaho Indian, and internationally known heavyweight wrestler and showman. Everyone in Oz was excited over his ar- rival. Fate (perhaps) seated Dona at Chief's table. He asked Dona to dance and hellip; They married and in due course had a daughter, Mar- keeta Little Wolf. (Although Chief had been married twice before, Markeeta was his only child. He said until he met Dona he had just been "shooting blanks".)

Chief ran a Wild West show that toured New Zea- land and Australia. Dona handled the money and managed the talent. Each night the Chief would ask the audience if they wanted to meet "my big, fat squaw?" The crowd greeted this ques- tion with great enthusiasm but when the spotlight hit Dona, they gasped. Neither big or fat, Dona entered in full Indian buckskin, head band and feather, all in a gorgeous size six. Dona rode the trick pony, assisted the knife thrower by being on the target to miss end, and if the snake charmer called in sick well, she knew her way around a python too.

In 1958 Chief had a massive, incapacitating stroke and, never worked again. With a nine month old baby, a new home, a mortgage and an invalid husband to support it was up to Dona. Dona, even though she had no restaurant experience bought a van on credit and converted it into a mobile hamburger stand. Dona worked that wagon ("hard yakka," she called it) at auc- tions, moved it to Barwon Heads Beach each summer for six weeks and the rest of the time had a permanent spot outside a blue collar, lar, Melbourne pub on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays, where she witnessed more than a few fights-fists, bottles and knives. Dona worked her hamburger van for ten years. Throughout this time, she took care of Chief and raised Markeeta. During that same period Dona began model- ing fashions and had a very successful career of it in print, on the runway and in television commercials.

Along the way, Markeeta, became a professional singer and she wanted to go to the

USA to fur- ther her career. Dona had taken on yet another role as her daughter's manager, chaperone, financial advisor and best friend. Chief's health declined further and he wanted to return to the United States to die. The family moved to this country in 1980, Chief passing away in 1982 in Seattle.

Dona and Markeeta went on to call Los Angeles their home. She continued to make Markeeta's stage cos- tumes ( think Liberace meets Cher in the Wild West). They lived in North Hollywood in a triplex. The other tenants told Dona the landlord was "great", just pay your rent on time, and you won't see him. However, one Sunday morning Dona noticed a distinguished Italian man walking around the building. She asked if he needed help. He said, "I'm Rudy Caprio. I own this place". The two shook hands and that was the end of the phantom landlord. Mr. Caprio visited his property frequently after that perhaps with the hope of "bumping into" the lady with the charming accent and saucy attitude. A Sat- urday morning inspection and leaving a bag of lox and bagels Dona's stoop lead eventually to her marriage with Rudy in 1986 (her third, for those counting).

In 1993 after the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, Dona, Rudy and Markeeta decided to get the heck out of Dodge. Pointing at random, they found Waitsburg on the map. Dona and Markeeta bought residential property and moved to that City while Rudy bought a home in Dayton. Although Dona and Rudy lived apart, mostly, the two remained devoted to each other until Rudy's death in 2001.

Dona soon became well known and accepted, gener- ally, in the farming commu- nity of Waitsburg. Never afraid to speak her mind, put her hand in her pocket for a group of kids without money for the pool, donate to Leroy Cun- ningham's "Paint the Town" project or enjoy a glass of Baileys at the Bullseye, she was a beloved oddity.

Dona ended her days at Eagle Springs Memory Care Unit in a state of pleasant confusion, surrounded by the caring staff she called "her angels".

Dona was beautiful, wit- ty, talented, outrageous and bold. She loved her family and enjoyed life.

Always funny. Always elegant. Always welcoming.

Dona Little Wolf is sur- vived by her son Garry Lee Reynolds and his wife, Sheila. Her daughter Mar- keeta Little Wolf and her husband Michael V Hub- bard. Her grandchildren Andrew Reynolds and his wife, Kendra. Beth Earl and her husband, Derek. Timothy Reynolds and his wife, Agnus. Jill Wooley and her husband, Mark. Mary Karlson and her husband, Ryan. Emily Hubbard Hubbard and her husband, Chris Hubbard. Miles Hubbard and his beloved, Stephanie Thomas. Henry Hubbard and his fiancé Kyla Winger. Twenty five great grand chil- dren and three more waiting in the wings.