I first met Donna in a small town on Vancouver Island in British Columbia a few years before I met the Vidyadhara and, as it turned out, she was instrumental to my coming into contact with the sangha, so I can never repay her kindness. My memory is that she was visiting from Chicago after being affected by the turmoil of the 1968 Democratic convention and she and her female friend were quickly absorbed into a cohort of good locals and nick-named the 'Chicaga Tomatas' due to their engaging personalities and sparkiness. We became quite close and I will always remember her for her acerbic wit, her incisive prajna, her humor and her devotion... She has been a dear dharmic sister to us all, and will be missed.