LaDonna Gail Anderson, formerly Richardson, age 56, passed away peacefully at her home near McCune, Kansas on July 14, 2023.
She was born on December 6, 1966 to Donna June Crane and Johnny Edward Richardson in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was the oldest of four daughters, including a set of twins. She had lived in the Pittsburg/McCune, Kansas area for thirty years.
At an early age, her many talents began to emerge and she excelled at dance and gymnastics, winning many state and regional competitions in Oklahoma and Texas. Around the age of ten, her true passion of singing began to reveal itself. She was a staple of the Tulsa music scene and this led to many interactions with some major performers. She spoke many times of having Mel McDaniel, Leon Russell, or Ronnie Dunn come and sit in with her. She became a member of Ronnie Dunn's (Brooks and Dunn) band and toured and worked with Ronnie. She also toured with Tommy Overstreet and opened for many headline acts, including Charlie Daniels. LaDonna also lived with Mel Tillis and his daughter Pam for a time in Branson.
After a stroke in 2000 ended her singing career, she turned her attention to fishing and flowerbeds and again excelled at both. She loved all animals, but especially, Dachshunds. Although, unable to have children of her own, LaDonna loved her nieces and nephews as her own. Her backyard and pool were full of laughing kids all summer. Dozens and dozens of children grew up at "LaLa's" house. She never turned her back on someone in need and many, many people had a shirt on their back or food in their belly because of her selfless soul.
She battled Peripheral Artery Disease for almost a decade and her last year was extremely difficult for her. Even having twenty-one surgeries in four years and both legs amputated, she never gave up her love for life.
She is survived by her husband, Jerry Anderson, and four wiener dogs, Elliott, Isabella, Lucy, and CeCe; two sisters, Kymberly Lewis and Julie Rogers; as well as her father, Johnny Richardson of Beggs, Oklahoma. She was preceded in death by her mother, Donna Richardson, and one sister, Johna Morris.
Funeral service will be at 11 a.m., Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at the Schneider Funeral Home and Crematory, Mound City Chapel. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until service time. Burial will follow in the Mapleton Cemetery. In lieu of flowers or other gifts, please make a donation to your local animal shelter in LaDonna's name or better yet adopt an animal in need. Online condolences may be left at www.schneiderfunerals.com.
