Donna Keir Cailor 1939-2022

Mrs. Cailor was born Dec. 17, 1939, in Hartford, to Lillebelle Messersmith and Donald David Keir.

She was a 1957 graduate of Hartford High School and received her Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education from Baldwin Wallace College. While in college, she met her beloved husband, Howard Wilson Cailor Jr., joined the Delta Zeta sorority and was voted May Queen in 1960. After her marriage to Howard on April 29, 1961, she taught second grade for five years at West Boulevard Elementary School in the Boardman Local School District. The Cailors resided in Youngstown, then retired to Sarasota, Fla., where her husband of 58 years entered the church triumphant Feb. 16, 2019.

Donna will be remembered for her faith in God, genuine kindness, constant care for family and friends (especially doting on her grandchildren), and most of all, her positive nature, always finding the best in everyone who crossed her path. Even in her later years, her compassion for others never waned.

She was very involved in the Youngstown community and volunteered for many worthy causes. Spanning three decades beginning in the 1970s, she served on the boards of the Speech and Hearing Center, Boardman Methodist Church Nursery School, Western Reserve Health Foundation, Neal Kennedy Recovery Center and The Butler Institute of American Art. She was the past president of the Women’s Board of the Western Reserve Care System and a past member of Boardman United Methodist Church, the New Century Club, Youngstown Panhellenic Association and the Women’s Golf Association of Youngstown Country Club. One of Donna’s passion projects was co-founding the Ronald McDonald House at Tod Children’s Hospital in 1993.

An avid gardener, she was a member of the Garden Club in Youngstown, where her home on Ravine Drive in Liberty was featured in the 1996 Gardens Tour sponsored by the Garden Forum of the Greater Youngstown area. While in Sarasota, she was a sustaining member of the Junior League of Sarasota, a member of The Oaks Country Club and an alumna of the Presbyterian Women at Siesta Key Chapel.

Donna was preceded in death by her father, Donald Keir; mother, Lillebelle Keir; and her husband, Howard Cailor Jr. Most recently, her brother, Jack Keir, passed away Sept. 22, 2022.

She is survived by her two children, Tiffani Cailor Torrence (Corey) of Dallas, Texas; and her son, Trent Cailor (Stephanie) of Boardman; along with her grandchildren, Alexis, Dillon and Carter Cailor. She also leaves her Starr Residences / Memory Care family at Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay.

The immediate family is incredibly grateful to all the caregivers and staff for the love and care they gave Donna.

A celebration of life gathering will be planned later this year in Youngstown. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the Plymouth Harbor Foundation, in honor of Donna Cailor, c/o Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay, 700 John Ringling Blvd., Sarasota, FL 34236; or to the Ryan Blaney Family Foundation, ryanblaneyfamilyfoundation.org.

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