Donna Jean Nichols, age 84, passed away on Sunday, April 13, 2025, at Sauk Prairie Hospital, surrounded by her three sons, their spouses, and a close niece. Donna was born in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, on September 2, 1940, the daughter of Mark and Della (Laufenberg) Lind. She grew up in Lone Rock, where her family owned a popular tavern. She graduated from Lone Rock High School in 1959 and attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout for one year. She then moved to Milwaukee and took a job with the phone company. During this time, she met and married Roy Lindquist, and they had three sons. Following several moves around the state, as well as a short time in Omaha, Nebraska, she returned to Prairie du Sac in 1976 shortly before divorcing Roy. In 1981, she married Ron Nichols, and they remained married until his death, November 16, 2005.

She was a talented florist with strong business acumen who worked hard all her life. Her first design position was with Tesch's Flower Land followed by several years at Eileen's Flower Shop in Prairie du Sac. She ventured out on her own when she and Ron purchased The Green Grove in Lodi, which she operated from 1983 to 1994. She then partnered with a longtime friend and fellow designer, Jody Fahey, to open House of Flowers in Verona, which she ran for several years before retiring and moving to The Villages, Florida, with Ron. To stay active, she worked as a floral designer while living in Florida and continued working part-time even after returning to Sauk Prairie in 2010. She was still working a few hours a week at River's Edge Floral and volunteered at the Sauk Prairie Hospital gift shop until a few years ago.

Donna loved cooking nearly as much as she loved floral designing and decorating. She enjoyed hosting people for cocktails and was well-known for entertaining guests nearly every weekend when she and Ron lived on Lake Wisconsin and the backyard pool at their home in Prairie du Sac. She was a wonderful cook who loved to experiment and could always be counted on to bring a fun, new dessert to family gatherings.

Donna is survived by her sons: Mark (Paula) Lindquist, Chris (Maria) Lindquist, Brett (Jennifer) Lindquist; grandchildren: Ryan (Deirdre) Brickl, Jared (Jenny) Lindquist, Kelly (Nick) Arbanas, Bryce Lindquist, Paige Lindquist, Sean Lindquist, Valerie Lindquist, Luke Lindquist, Emma Lindquist; stepchildren: Craig (Shari) Nichols, Mark (Mary Jo) Nichols, Diane Nichols, Joel (Jessica) Nichols; great-grandchildren: George, Owen, and Eddy Brickl.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Ron Nichols; parents; siblings: Kay (Gordon) Culver, Jolene Lind, John "Jack" Lind; and stepson, Randy Nichols.

The family would like to thank Leon and Jolene Herbrand for their many years of friendship and support. We would also like to thank Donna's in-home caregivers, Rhonda, Sara, and Katherine.

A celebration of life for family and friends will be held June 21, 2025, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the Dorf Haus in Roxbury, WI.