A very nice tribute to Donna Woofter was printed in the Kansas City Star today. I am attaching the text because I was unable to add the correct link.
DONNA WOOFTER | ‘The consummate volunteer’
TRIBUTE: Always willing to help, always wearing a smile
By LINDA CRUSE
Special to The Star
Photo courtesy of the family
“She had an incredible capacity to love,” said baseball coach Bill Severns. “She had every child’s best interest at heart.”
Who: Donna Woofter of Overland Park
When and how she died: Woofter died Aug. 27 from a dissecting aneurysm.
Age: 48
Ultimate volunteer: Woofter’s husband, Walter, is the Shawnee Mission East area director for the Football and Cheerleading Club of Johnson County, a youth football program for Johnson County students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Woofter assisted with the club, from helping with registration to working in the equipment room, he said.
“Donna was always there and was always willing to help,” said Debbie Koenigsdorf, a friend and fellow volunteer. “She was a lifesaver for me. She stepped up and volunteered in the equipment room when no one else was willing to help. It was a messy, smelly job, but she always had a smile on her face.”
Walter Woofter said his wife also attended nearly every practice of the Kansas City Wrestling Club, which he coached and had founded.
“She was always there to talk to the parents and students,” he said. “She really gave a lot of her time and energy to helping others.”
Jim Koenigsdorf, another youth sports volunteer and Debbie’s husband, described her as “the consummate volunteer. She got there early, stayed late and never complained.”
Woofter was “the heartbeat of our team,” said Bill Severns, the coach of her son Chase’s Little League Baseball team. “She was our scorekeeper and did a meticulous job. She made each child feel as if he was the most special. We’re dedicating our next year’s season to Donna, and the boys will be wearing her initials on their uniforms next year.”
She also coached her daughter Eryn’s softball team and was the team mom for her son Erik’s wrestling team.
Avid sports fan: Woofter was born in Oakley, Kan., and grew up in Hoxie, Kan.
“Growing up, she played softball and was a cheerleader,” her husband said. “She really loved sports.” She was an avid K-State football fan and also enjoyed watching the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs. She operated a day care in her home and taught the youngsters how to say “Go Wildcats.”
Always caring: When families who participated in the football club’s activities couldn’t afford equipment or entry fees, the Woofters helped them pay the fees or adjusted the costs. She hosted team dinners for her son’s wrestling team and was a volunteer at her children’s schools. She cared for her day-care children as if they were her own, her husband said. “She loved being with the children,” he said, “most of whom were 5 or younger.”
Woofter also enjoyed working with older children, Jim Koenigsdorf recalled. “She really enjoyed the kids, and the kids responded to her,” he said. “She was just an unbelievable team mom.”
Survivors include: Her husband, three children, parents, stepfather, grandparents, mother- and father-in-law, brothers and sisters, and many nieces and nephews.
The last word: “She had an incredible capacity to love,” Severns said. “She had every child’s best interest at heart and was sincerely interested in every one of them. She had a huge heart.”
