Donnis Luck

(From Clark Funeral Home)

Donnis (Dabbs) Luck peacefully passed away on Sunday, August 29, 2021, in Overland Park, Kansas at the age of 93. Her daughter, Terri Laddusaw and son-in-law John Laddusaw were with her at her time of passing. She was a member of Rocketdyne Road Church of Christ, Neosho, MO.

Donnis was born on May 23,1928 to Emmett Loren and Edith Malissa (Roller) Dabbs in the small community of Pepsin, east of Diamond, Missouri in rural Newton County. One of eight children, Donnis, was right in the middle. Her family lived in the little house in Pepsin until Donnis was five years old and then they moved “down in the hills” of Goodman, Missouri in McDonald County. 

She often told wonderful stories about both places, but mostly the house down in the hills. There was a creek running along the property and a concrete slab that she and her siblings would use as a slide into the water. It was a wonderful place to grow up during the Great Depression. She, along with her younger sister Nadine, both created paintings from a photograph of the little house down in the hills. It held so many memories. 

It was during those years in that little house in the hills that Donnis learned about plants and flowers from her mother and her father. She was taught what was safe to eat right off the vine and what wasn’t. She learned what insects and snakes were to be avoided. She would go with her Daddy, a Church of Christ preacher, when he would visit folks. 

She developed her lifelong love for Jesus by the example set by both of her parents. Her mother would often go and help other women deliver their babies and Donnis would go along. Her love for gardening and cooking came from her mother.

The family moved back up to Granby, Missouri when Donnis was a teenager and there she graduated from Granby High School. She then attended David Lipscomb College in Nashville, Tennessee where she received her bachelor's degree in Sociology. 

She worked as a social worker in Abilene, Texas while attending Abilene Christian College (now university), working on her master's degree. She later accepted a position as a women’s dormitory supervisor at David Lipscomb University and received her master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Donnis worked as a social worker her entire adult life, in a variety of settings. From working in adoption services to school social work to county mental health to hospital psychiatric care. She helped so many people during her lifetime. She retired from St. John’s Hospital, Joplin, Missouri.

While living and working in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1960’s, Donnis met Hershel Luck, when a mutual friend introduced them because Donnis needed a car and Hershel was an honest, kind car salesman, who also happened to be an upstanding Christian man of the same Church of Christ faith. They fell in love and were married on August 31, 1968. 

Hershel was a widower with three children. Two who were grown and college aged and the youngest was 6 years old. Donnis stepped in without hesitation and became a bonus mom to the two oldest children (affectionately known as mom) and became a mother to the youngest, loving and raising her as if she’d given birth to her. 

She wholeheartedly embraced her role as mother to these three souls who had gone through the pain of losing their biological mother to illness. She was theirs and they were hers. All three children loved Donnis with their whole hearts and she them. She was a blessing to this little family in more ways than we can convey.

Donnis and Hershel and their young teenage daughter Terri, left Detroit in the summer of 1977 and moved to a small five-acre farm in rural Newton County, Missouri. It was wonderful for her to live close to several of her siblings again. They enjoyed sharing holidays and birthdays together, attending church together and just being family. 

Donnis and Hershel dearly loved their little place out in the country. They had a huge garden and they raised chickens for a minute and a few cows. Around 1989, they purchased a house “in town” in Neosho, Missouri. They enjoyed life there for many years and she enjoyed six more years there, after Hershel passed. They added a beautiful, covered deck that hosted flowers and bird feeders so they could enjoy all the songbirds, hummingbirds and the silly squirrels and chipmunks who would visit. She continued gardening there until she was unable to do it. 

In 2018, Donnis moved into assisted living in Neosho where she lived for almost two years before moving to Olathe, KS in March of 2020 to be near her daughter, Terri in Overland Park, KS.

Donnis and Hershel had a beautiful 44 years of love together before he passed away on October 8, 2012, at the age of 90. What a love story it was. Traveling the world together, including mission work for the Church of Christ later in life. They made multiple trips to Ukraine to plant churches and share their love of Jesus with the beautiful people of Ukraine. They made lasting friendships there and helped several young people come to the US and become US citizens.

Donnis was a blessing to all who knew her. She was kind and generous and the embodiment of love. She was a strong and independent woman with a calming spirit. If you were fortunate enough to know her, you know what love is. She and Hershel were both “Love in Action.” You were always welcome in their home and Donnis would always feed you. She was a gracious host and loved to cook and made the most amazing meals. Holidays were always special with more than enough food to go around. We will always remember and carry forward some of those holiday traditions like her amazing crescent cookies at Christmas.

Donnis was preceded in death by her husband Hershel Luck, her parents, Emmett Loren and Edith Malissa Dabbs, siblings, Ivan Dabbs (died in infancy), Eugene Dabbs, Troy Dabbs, Wilma (Dabbs) Gilmore, Nadine (Dabbs) Keith and Marianna (Dabbs) Blankenship. Brothers and Sisters-in-Law, Sheila Dabbs, Gwendolyn Dabbs, Gene Gilmore, Duane Keith, Jim Blankenship and nephews Billy Dabbs, Terry Dabbs, and David Gilmore. 

She is survived by her children, Carolyn Luck, Pittsburgh, PA, Gerald (Jerry) Luck and wife Jackie, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI, Terri Laddusaw and husband John, Overland Park, KS and grandson Michael Croneberger and fiancé, Kate Melber, Pittsburgh, PA, brother Dr. Wil Dabbs and wife Dawn, Neosho, MO. Many nieces and nephews around the United States who loved their Aunt Donnis. Special friend, Anne Cope, who continued to send sweet notes to her regularly, that always made her smile. Many friends in Ukraine whom she loved unconditionally. Special thank you to Sandy Durbin who loved and cared for Donnis for several years after Hershel passed away. We will forever be grateful. Donnis will be deeply missed and remembered always for her sweet smile and calming presence and the love that flowed from her.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, no service is planned at this time. Donnis was laid to rest alongside her beloved Hershel in the Springfield Veteran’s Cemetery south of Springfield, Missouri.

Donations in Memory of Donnis can be made to the Rocketdyne Road Church of Christ Mission Program in care of the church, Neosho, MO or to the Missouri MOPH (Military Order of Purple Heart) in Joplin, Missouri.