Donna Frank Ver Steeg

Dr. Donna Frank Ver Steeg, RN, PhD, FAAN passed away on Aug. 28 in Sacramento, California. She was 86.

Donna’s family previously lived in Santa Monica and then Pacific Palisades for more than 40 years combined, beginning in 1967. Donna is survived by her siblings, Joyce Green and her husband Hank; John Frank and his wife Deborah; Sharon Osborn and her husband Kenny; her children Julie Ver Steeg and her husband John Howes; Anne Anderson and her husband Don, Richard Ver Steeg and his wife Robin; her grandchildren, Sarah, Nick, Merritt and Drake; and many friends and extended family members.

Donna studied biology at Whittier College where she met her future husband Dick (Richard) W. Ver Steeg. After two years, Donna transferred to Stanford University School of Nursing in San Francisco (Class of ’51) for three additional years to get her BS in nursing. During her time at Stanford, Donna established friendships with her fellow students that would last a lifetime. Dick followed Donna to the Bay Area and they were married on Nov. 23, 1950.

Over the next 16 years she and Dick had three children and relocated six times for Dick’s work. In that time she worked as a mom, volunteer, community activist, nurse, university teacher and graduate student working on her MS in nursing.

In 1967, the family moved to Santa Monica, where Donna completed her MSN through UC San Francisco and went on to earn her MS  (’69) and PhD (’73) in sociology from UCLA. In 1973 she joined the UCLA School of Nursing as a faculty member. In 1982 she and Dick moved to Pacific Palisades where they stayed until Dick’s passing in 2010.

The betterment of the nursing profession to benefit society was always Donna’s passion.

Her many accomplishments are noted in this memoriam posted by UCLA: newsroom.ucla.edu/dept/faculty/in-memoriam:-donna-ver-steeg-ucla-advocate-for-expanding-role-of-nurses.

Family was equally important to Donna. She was the oldest of four siblings and 15 cousins who have all stayed in close contact over the years. Weekends often found Dick, Donna and the kids visiting Donna’s parents home at which aunts, uncles and cousins would converge.

A memorial was held at UCLA on Oct. 9.

Donna’s daughter Anne can be reached at annelanderson@gmail.com.