Obituaries
Donna Steiner Pace of Livingston, MT passed away on Sunday, August 3rd after a hard fought battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 72.
A celebration of life and potluck lunch will be held at 1:30 pm on Saturday, October 18th at the Elks Lodge in Livingston, MT. All are welcome.
Donna was a giver, leaving a lasting influence of service in the city of Livingston and down Paradise Valley, and in the lives of those who knew and loved her.
Born in Pasadena, California, to Donald Dewey Steiner and Lewis Cass Westbrook, Donna came into the world on November 15, 1952. She grew up in Whittier, California, with siblings Neale, Larry, and Diane. Donna loved sports, dancing and was a song leader throughout high school and junior college at Rio Hondo.
Donna had a passion for nature that guided her life in all things both big and small.
In each house she lived, Donna always put out seed so that the world of birds would come by and visit each day. Her favorite visitors included Cedar Waxwings, Lazuli Buntings, and Western Tanagers. For many years, it was a morning ritual to listen to Stardate on NPR, inspiring her to spend evenings exploring the night skies of Montana with her daughters Cassie and Caitlyn.
Nature and the outdoors led her to spend the summer of 1974 in Lee Vining, a small town on the shores of Mono Lake in the Eastern Sierras, where at Nicely’s restaurant she met her future husband, Geoff. Their love of “high mountains and small towns” led them to Paradise Valley, Montana, in 1977.
Donna had a lifelong love affair with food service. After moving to Montana, she began working at Chico Hot Springs Resort, where she would forge many of her longest and closest friendships. After nearly 20 years at Chico, she worked alongside Russell Chatham to open The Livingston Bar & Grille Restaurant in 1995.
Donna loved the social aspect of food service, and even after leaving the restaurant business she could not stay away. Often and joyfully, she found herself working many catering events in Livingston and Paradise Valley.
Donna earned a Bachelors of Arts in Film & Television Production at Montana State University in 1994, leading her to work on several movies and commercials locationed in Montana in the filming boom of the late 90s and early 2000s. Many years later, a surprise casting in The Music Man brought on a love for acting at The Firehouse Five Playhouse, The Blue Slipper, and The Shane Center.
For many years, she worked for underwater cinematographer Al Giddings in his studio at the base of Emigrant Peak. She relished her drives down Paradise Valley, often stopping along the way to watch the nesting pair of bald eagles along the Yellowstone River and the Sandhill Cranes raising their colts in the fields along Sixmile Creek.
In the final years of her working career Donna reinvented herself once again, earning her Series 7 license and working in wealth management at First Interstate Bank in Livingston. While banking and investments were not her great passion, Donna relished the opportunity to be a helping hand to those in her community.
Donna dedicated much of her adult life to service. She was an integral part of Sister City Livingston from 2003 until her illness in 2024, serving on the board and spearheading fundraising efforts that sent more than 100 exchange students and chaperones to Naganohara, Japan, and hosted Japanese exchange students and their chaperones in Livingston.
Donna visited Naganohara as a chaperone with the exchange group in 2012. It was the cultural exchange aspect of the program that meant the most to Donna. For her this wasn’t just a trip abroad; it was an opportunity for all those involved to experience the mission of Sister Cities International: to promote peace through mutual respect and understanding of one another’s culture. She believed wholeheartedly in the fundraising aspect of Livingston Sister Cities, a 100% volunteer group dedicated to the idea that all students selected are able to participate regardless of income. Former exchange students remember the example she set in the power of hard work. Donna was the pioneering force in keeping the program active and financially solvent during multiple years with no student exchange, especially during COVID-19.
She was on the vestry at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, and the boards at the Livingston Food Resource Center and The Blue Slipper Theatre. In her free time, she could be found volunteering with ASPEN, Loaves and Fishes, The Shane Center and The Livingston Depot Center.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Donna’s name to the organizations she championed: St. Andrews Church, ASPEN, The Livingston Food Resource Center, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks, or an organization of your choice.