26/02/2024
Donna Louise French, a good friend of the Centro Cultural Bahia Matanchen and Bahia Matanchen Animals, passed away on January 21, 2024 at 12:45 pm at the age of 74. She was a resident of Chapala, Jalisco Mexico. Donna was born on April 28, 1949, in central California to Leslie and Elizabeth Allen. She was the middle child to her older sister Joyce Allen and younger brother David Allen. Donna attended David Starr Jordan High School in Long Beach, CA and graduated with honors. She went on to a career in nursing and later became a leading authority in addiction medicine as the Executive Director of Operation Breakthrough in Big Bear, California.
Donna was married to the love of her life Robert “Bob” King French from 1989 to his passing in 2017. They lived in Long Beach, CA, moved to Big Bear, CA, and finally retired in Aticama Mexico, a place they loved very much. After Bob’s passing, she decided to sell her home and move to Chapala where she met and fell in love with a wonderful community of caring people. She talked about and shared pictures of those she shared stories with. Donna is survived by her son Marc and his wife Michelle along with three grandchildren Ben, Victoria, and Lauren, her brother David, and cousins Nick, Shelly, and Sean. Donna had so many friends it would be impossible to list even a fraction of them. She touched peoples lives by the thousands during her work in addiction recovery and saved countless souls from a life of addiction. She was most proud of the work she did in this area above all else. Donna was a lifelong lover of animals and left behind her beloved dogs who were placed in a wonderful home just as she would have wanted them to be.
Donna always chose a life path that was challenging and never backed down from the hardships that it would bring her way. She was incredibly spiritual and did not fear death as she knew it was only the next step in her adventure.
