DONNA LOUISE BOUTANG

After a very brief battle with cancer, Donna Louise Boutang (née Glenn) of Winnipeg passed away peacefully on October 29, 2025 with her beloved daughter Kailey by her side, surrounding her with love. Throughout her short illness, Donna maintained unbelievable strength, kindness, compassion, gratitude, and love for family and friends.

Donna was deeply loved and will be greatly missed by her daughter, Kailey. She was pre-deceased by her parents, Maurice and Winnie Glenn; her son Josh; her husband Leveret; her older brother Gerry and his wife Yvonne; and her mother-in-law Terry Boutang.

Also left to mourn her passing are Lev’s siblings, Channing (Colleen) Boutang, Careen (Jack) Simoes, Dudley Boutang; their families, and many cousins. Her best friend of almost 60 years, Debbie (Ron) McArthur, and countless other dear friends will miss her beyond measure.

Donna grew up in Strathclair, MB., the daughter of a farmer and a school teacher, from whom she inherited the strong character and values of a prairie girl. She was a majorette, a figure skater, a 4H member, a participant in school activities, a curler, a cafe waitress, and a very popular babysitter. She loved spending time with her Dad at the barn, riding horses, helping her Mum with school tasks and gardening, playing with friends, and the countless other activities that make up a small town childhood.

After graduating from Strathclair Collegiate in 1974, Donna headed to Winnipeg to begin the next chapter of her life. After a short stint with MTS, Donna worked a number of years for the Provincial Government. At a party in the summer of 1975, this gorgeous redhead caught Lev’s eye, and romance blossomed. Donna quickly became a fixture within Lev’s large group of friends .. some of whom, namely Sharon (Rusty) Miller and Kathy Pion, are still close friends today. It was a carefree and incredibly fun time in their lives. Lev also became good friends with Donna’s friend Debbie and her husband Ron and many hours were spent playing card games, talking, and laughing around the Boutang or McArthur kitchen tables.

Donna and Lev were married on May 28,1977. Josh was born in December 1981, followed by Kailey in January 1984, and Donna became a MUM in every sense of the word. Her children were her everything. She was a supportive, proud, creative, active and involved parent. She and Lev were constant cheerleaders at the kid’s hockey, ringette, and baseball games where they established many friendships that continued for years to come. Donna baked and decorated birthday cakes, planned fun birthday parties, created unique Hallowe’en costumes, and helped with countless school projects. Kailey remembers evening walks in the park, Sunday drives (which she hated as a child but loves as an adult), ice cream stops, the excitement of the arrival of their new puppy Ace, and the many visits to Strathclair. Summer was an especially great time to visit Grandma and Grandpa Glenn .. swimming at Salt Lake was particularly fun and attending the Strathclair fair and competing in the exhibits became an annual family tradition.

When Josh started school at Victor H. L. Wyatt Elementary in St. Vital, Donna became involved with activities there which led to a job as a volunteer co-ordinator, and eventually a full-time EA position which lasted 34 years until her retirement in early January 2023. She SO loved her many “work” friends and her biggest hesitation about retiring was that she would lose that connection. She needn’t have worried .. she was beloved by them as well and those relationships have been a source of much joy and incredible support over the years.

Donna’s life changed completely in July 2006 when Josh suffered a catastrophic diving accident that left him quadriplegic. From that moment on, she was completely and selflessly devoted to his well-being and care .. spending countless hours as his loving caregiver, sitting by his bedside at home and in the hospital, responding to middle of the night emergency calls, daily visits and meal preparations, doctor’s appointments, paperwork and scheduling of care, providing emotional support, and a million other tasks .. all while working full-time and managing her home, her garden, her family, and making time for her friends. It was an exhausting schedule but she never wavered and never complained. She was absolutely devastated when Josh passed away in 2018, but she carried on with incredible strength and resilience.

Shortly after, Donna’s mother’s health began to fail and Donna once again found herself in the caregiver role, handling all the details of her Mum’s move to Winnipeg and subsequent care, until her passing in 2019.

At the same time, Lev’s health and mobility was deteriorating, which became especially challenging with the onset of COVID, and then the heartbreak of his sudden passing in January, 2021.

In the fall of 2023, Donna’s older brother Gerry began suffering difficulties and Donna handled many of his medical and personal needs until his death one year ago.

It was all more loss, more heartbreak, and more overwhelming responsibility than one person should bear. Yet Donna handled it all with humility and compassion, practicality and efficiency, courage and energy beyond what most people could even imagine. Her smile never faded and her zest for life never disappeared.

Some of Donna’s greatest pleasures, when she found the time, would be to spend time with friends, cheer on the Winnipeg Jets and Blue Bombers, take drives in the country, and enjoy a morning coffee on her deck. Donna took great pride in her lovely home and yard .. she was a passionate gardener and her backyard was both a refuge and a showpiece where she loved to putter and entertain.

In recent years, she was bitten by the travel bug and was always up for the next adventure. Whether it was Nova Scotia, southern Ontario, Florida, Hawaii, road trips with Kailey, or just an afternoon driving to favourite spots closer to home .. she loved and appreciated it all. She took pictures of everything, capturing the beauty of the moment to share with others.

But of all the things Donna loved to do, her greatest happiness by far came from being with her daughter Kailey. They shared a very special mother/daughter bond that was evident to anyone who knew them. Donna was so incredibly proud of Kailey and her accomplishments and independence, as well as being profoundly grateful for her thoughtfulness, her love, and her support. But what she was most thankful for was Kailey’s time and willingness to just be together, no matter what they were doing. Some of their favourite activities were watching hockey, visiting garden centres, discovering new places, and exploring unique shopping spots where they could browse for hours. This past summer they were able to take a long awaited trip to Scotland to explore the area where Donna’s mother was born, and visit many other spectacular places, including a brief stop in Iceland on the way home. What a gift of memories this created for Kailey.

There were still so many plans to be made, things to do, places to go, and people to meet. The sudden onset of Donna’s illness, and the speed and ferocity of its progression, is nothing anyone could have predicted or prepared for. Donna would be the first to say .. “all the more reason to do what you can, when you can”. Enjoy your life and follow your dreams.

Reading all the heartwarming comments since her passing, the one theme that stands out above all the others is “kindness” and how she was always thinking of others. She would be so proud of that! She was a true “helper” who believed that everyone was deserving of kindness and compassion. Every December, on Josh’s birthday, she and Kailey would deliver Christmas hampers and perform random acts of kindness in his honour. In one of the final conversations with her in the hospital, she said “helping people is important”. It would greatly honour Donna for others to pay it forward with similar gestures. If desired, donations to the True North Youth foundation at www.truenorthyouthfoundation.com would be appreciated.

Kailey would like to extend an invitation to all of Donna’s friends and family to share memories and love at a gathering planned for Sunday, November 23, 2025 from 1:30-3:30 at the Niakwa Country Club, 620 Niakwa Road in Winnipeg. Donna asked for a “party” so we hope for much laughter amongst the tears as we pay tribute to a beautiful, kind, and gentle soul gone much too soon. Donna also frequently mentioned her love of flowers, so for guests who wish to do so, carrying or wearing a flower in some fashion would be a most fitting and welcome tribute.

An interment ceremony will be held at a later date in Strathclair, where Donna will be laid to rest, reunited for eternity with Lev, Josh, her parents, and brother.

Thank-you everyone for the kind messages of sympathy, support, love and remembrance.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

1833 Portage Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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