Dona A. Mates passed away after a long illness on April 4, 2013 at Sullivan County Healthcare Center.  Born in Walpole, NH in 1929 to Oscar F. and Alice E. (Mack) Adams, she was a resident of Charlestown most of her life.  She graduated from Charlestown High School in 1947 and U.N.H. in 1951.  She married William B. Mates Jr. (deceased 1993) of Portsmouth, NH in 1952.  She leaves behind two children, Heather Mates of Charlestown, NH and one son, Matthew Mates of Auckland, New Zealand, one grandchild, Alexander Wm. Mates, also of Auckland, New Zealand.  She has one nephew, William Adams of Charlestown, NH and a sister-on-law, Lora Lynn Adams of Bentley, LA, the wife of her late brother, Rodney R. Adams (deceased 2012).

Dona was a primary school teacher in Charlestown for 25 years before she retired.  She was involved in many civic activities including volunteering at Fort No.4, serving on the Cemetery and Silsby Library committees, and was a member of the local order of Eastern Star.  She was a life-long member of the South Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Charlestown where she spent many happy hours with her dear friends.

A memorial service for Dona A. Mates, who died on April 4, 2013, will be celebrated at the South Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, Main Street, Charlestown, NH on Friday, May 3^rd at 10:30 in the morning, with Rev. Mark Fleming.

A luncheon will follow in the Parish Hall.   

One of Dona’s great passions was her belief that every child have the opportunity to learn to read early in life.  As a lover of books and poetry she was acutely aware of how important it was for children to be read to and to read themselves.  In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations may be made in her memory to the Children’s Reading Room at the Silsby Public Library, P.O. Box 307, Charlestown, NH, 03603.