Donna M. "Donni" Stangland Nowasell of Indianola, IA died suddenly Wednesday, April 29 at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines from heart and lung complications. Born in St. James, MN on December 16, 1937, the youngest of four girls, Donni grew up in Perry, IA, where she graduated from high school. She attended Simpson College and received a bachelor of music education degree from the University of Hawaii in 1965. She married Frank Nowasell on August 21, 1960 and the couple lived briefly in Syracuse, NY and Seattle, WA before moving to Honolulu, Hawaii where they both taught school and Donni was minister of music for a church for 12 years. All three of their children were born in Hawaii. In 1974 the family returned to Iowa and settled in Indianola.

A gifted musician, Donni began piano lessons at age 4 and was a regular organist at her church by age 11. Throughout her long music career, she taught and performed music in various capacities. She was organist and choral director at several churches in Honolulu and in the Indianola area. [i] She also taught piano to hundreds of students, coached and accompanied numerous vocalists and groups, and played for countless weddings, funerals, school programs and several local theatre productions. She was regular organist and choir director for 14 years at Scotch Ridge Presbyterian Church. Most recently prior to her semi-retirement, she had accompanied the vocal music programs at Indianola Middle School for more than a dozen years and also helped briefly at Weeks Middle School in Des Moines.

Donni participated in various Carousel Theatre musical productions, served on the Indianola Parks and Recreation board, the League of Women Voters, and helped found the Indianola Chapter of the Des Moines Metro Opera Guild, where she was president for several years. In 1995 she was named Volunteer of the Year by Opera Guilds International at that organization's annual meeting in Vancouver, BC.

Donni was preceded in death by her parents and one sister. She is survived by husband Frank; a son Todd currently living in Berlin, Germany; daughters Erika Bachof (Scotty) of Indianola, and Anika (Clark) of Atlantic, IA ; five grandchildren, Lacey, Dallas, Grace, Olivia and Tanner; sisters, Beryl Cox of Perry and Joyce Hagener of Urbandale.

Visitation will be held 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 5 at Overton Funeral Home where family will be present from 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 6 at the First United Methodist Church in Indianola. Cremation will follow services. Inurnment of cremains will be in the Scotch Ridge Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family invites contributions in Donni's name to the Indianola Chapter of Des Metro Opera Guild.