Donna Kraft

Donna Mae Kraft, 82, of New Salem, ND passed away Saturday, December 26, 2020 at CHI St. Alexius Medical Center after a short bout with cancer.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, January 2, 2021 at Spirit of Life Catholic Church, Mandan, ND with Rev. Brandon Wolf as celebrant. Burial will follow at Mandan Union Cemetery.

Visitation will be held Friday, January 1, 2021 from 5:00-7:00 PM at Weigel Funeral Home, Mandan, with a private family Rosary/Vigil at 7:00 PM. All attendees are asked to wear a mask and follow all social distancing guidelines.

Live streaming of the service will be available on the Weigel Funeral Home website on Donna’s obituary page.

Donna (Boehm) Kraft was born on July 8, 1938 in Mandan, ND to Matt and Emma Boehm. She grew up on a farm north of Mandan where she helped with all the farm duties, milked cows, and enjoyed riding her horse. Donna graduated from Mandan High School in 1958 and went to Dickinson State College, where she earned a teaching degree. After earning her teaching degree, she came back to Mandan and taught at a rural school. During the summers, she would stay at her Uncle Tony and Aunt Monica Boehm’s, helping on their farm near New Salem. It was during this time that she met her future husband, Kasper Kraft.

Donna and Kasper were married on October 1, 1962 and Donna moved to the Kraft farm where she lived the rest of her life. They had five children: Kasper Jr., Steve, Susan, Allen, and Robin.

Donna worked hard on the farm driving tractor, combining, and driving trucks, but in her free time she especially loved planting numerous flower gardens. She also enjoyed watching John Wayne western movies, crocheting, sewing, and gardening. She collected angels and had over 400 of them.

Donna is survived by her husband of 58 years, Kasper; her five children, Kasper Jr. (Mary) Palm Bay, FL, Steven (Julie) New Salem, Susan (Randy) Henke, Stanton, Allen (Amber) Kraft, Bismarck, and Robin (Rick) Schimke, Bismarck; nine grandchildren, Kirby, Jacob, Daniel & Kathryn Kraft, Wilton and Sigryn Henke, Cameron VonBank and Victoria Kraft and Nevaeh Schimke; two great-grandchildren, Lorelei Kraft and Elzay VonBank; her brother, Ernest Boehm; and her sisters, Susan (Robert) Bauer, Patricia Stein and Geradine (David) Kath.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Matt and Emma Boehm; and her brothers, Matt Jr. and William Boehm.