Donna Jeanne Gioia passed away peacefully on Friday September 12, 2025, after a battle with dementia. Born on April 18, 1939, in Coudersport, PA, she was the daughter of the late William A and Hazel E (nee House) Pringle.

Donna graduated from LaSalle High School in Niagara Falls, NY. Aspiring to pursue a degree in teaching, she attended Buffalo State College, then transferred to Union College in Barbourville, KY and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She also attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and returned to Lockport, NY and obtained her master’s degree in childhood education at Buffalo State College. Her first teaching position was in Rochester, NY, before she returned to Lockport and taught generations of third-grade children, at Anna Merritt Elementary School. 

Donna met the “love of her life,” Anthony “Tony” Gioia, whom she married in 1970 and they raised, their beloved children, Louis, William and Laura, in “the house on the hill,” in Lockport. At their homestead, she enjoyed gardening. She also loved canning and baking, was an avid quilter and belonged to Kenan Quilters Guild. At Dale Association, she was active in quilting as well. Donna also volunteered at the Lockport Historical Society and she was on the Bereavement Committee at All Saints Parish. 

After retirement, Donna attended book clubs and a memoir-style writing group in East Aurora, NY. She also travelled a lot and belonged to a World War II Memorial reunion group, due to her late husband, Tony, who had served in the US Army Air Corp., from 1943 - 1945. She also fulfilled her longtime goal of visiting Italy, in remembrance of family. 

When Donna wasn’t traveling, she enjoyed getting her Starbucks coffee, chatting and meeting with her dear group of friends, which she called “the LaSalle gals pals.” She spent a lot of quality time with her daughter, Laura. Donna enjoyed maintaining the grounds at the family home, which she referred to as “the Gioia Estate.” She was really crafty with words.

Donna was pre-deceased by her loving husband, Tony, who passed away on September 17, 2008. She is also survived by her caring, loving children, Louis Gioia, Laura Gioia and William (Brandi) Gioia and her three beautiful grandchildren, Benjamin, Caleb and Elijah, whom she adored. Donna is survived by her brothers Richard Pringle and Charles (Sybil) Pringle, pre-deceased by her two sisters Judith (Pringle) Duffy and Elizabeth Pringle and pre-deceased by her brothers, John and Russell Pringle. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews.

Friends and relatives may call on September 21st between 1-4PM, at Prudden & Kandt Funeral Home, located at 242 Genesee Street, Lockport, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday, Septemner 22nd at 10 AM at All Saints Roman Catholic Parish, 76 Church Street, Lockport, NY.   Entombment will be at Acacia Park Cemetery, North Tonawanda, NY, immediately following the mass.

A special thanks to the staff at Tennyson Court assisted living home and the staff at Buffalo General Hospital. Please feel free to make a donation in her honor to Alzheimer’s Association of  Western New York www.alz.org western New York or Buffalo General Hospital, Palliative Care Unit, www.hospicebuffalo.com.