Mother Donella, the third of five children, was born in Logan County, West Virginia. She was preceded in death by her parents, Sidney and Ella (Newsome) Shepard, her sons, Rodney Cabell, Lawrence Crowder Jr., Jerome Crowder; and her siblings, Willian Shepard, Lenora Brown, Pearl Washington, and Lucy Horton.
After accepting Christ early on, Mother Donella ministered to children in Sunday school and diligently impacted many others with compassion and wisdom throughout her spiritual life. She has good standing with and had been a long time member at Mt. Hermon Baptist Church, Bible Way, Praise Temple; and presently at Higher Ground Always Abounding Assemblies.
In Mother Donella’s professional career, she was an OSU alumni, a founding member of the Children’s Hospital Credit Union; and retired after an illustrious thirty-seven year career from the Hospital as Lead Laboratory Blood Sample Technician. She also was an active member of the Columbus Board of Realtors where she championed affordable and decent private sector housing for any and all. Her sense of civic and community pride, coupled with fair housing practices was instrumental in affecting the lives of many people over the decades.
Mother Donella is survived by her loving husband, Lawrence Sr., sons and daughters, Omer Alan (Sharon) Cabell, Lester (Paulita) and Frederick (Mushirah) Crowder, Dorothy Guyton, Gloria Crowder, Theresa (Spencer) Lyons; and foster daughter, Judy Neal Crowder. She is also fondly remembered by Tamara Cabell and thirty-six other grandchildren; as well as many more great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
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