Dona May Hanak

Dona May Hanak

1930 - 2024

Dona May Hanak, age 94, passed away on May 19, 2024, a few weeks after suffering a stroke. Dona was born to Elmer Herbert and Elsie Mary Raiman on February 19, 1930, the eldest of 3 children. Dona grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where her father worked for the Simmons Company. Her father was diagnosed with cancer when Dona was a young teenager, passing away when Dona was 17. Her mother worked at Woolworths to support the family. After graduating from Mary D. Bradford High School, Dona went to work as a secretary for the Simmons Company where she met her husband Richard F.“Dick” Hanak. They married and had 2 children, Richard “Rick” and Randal “Randy”. As Dick moved upin the company, the young family moved frequently before finally settling in Rockville, Maryland in1967. Dona remained there until after her divorce from Dick in 1980, when she bought her townhome in Gaithersburg.

A stay-at-home housewife and mom since her children were born, after the divorce Dona went back to school to update her secretarial skills then found a job as a secretary first at Sears, and later at the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST). Dedicated, hard-working and smart, Dona lovedworking: the mental challenge, the social aspect and keeping busy. In 2008, Dona was awarded the Crittenden Award (awarded each year “to recognize superior achievement by permanent employees, who perform supporting services that have significant impact on technical programs beyond their own offices”). Remembering how much her mother missed working after being forced to retire from Woolworths at age 65, Dona vowed not to retire until she had to. Determined to stay both physically and mentally healthy, Dona walked to work in all kinds of weather, ate healthily (including the vegetables that she and Randy grew in their garden) and prepared her own income tax returns each year, by hand! Even into her 80s, after being diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, she continued to work until the side effects of the chemo and her weakened immune system forced her to retire. Dona greatly valued the friendships made at NIST; some of these friends still continued to take her out to lunch and visit her until her passing.

While she was more active, Dona enjoyed trips to California to visit her son, Rick, and his family, and frequent outings to the theater and dinner with her “lady friends”. In more recent years, she still enjoyed helping her son, Randy, in their garden and cooking the resulting produce, having lunch with her friends and spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, when they came to visit.

Dona is survived by her two sons and their families: Rick (Joyce) Hanak, and Randy Hanak, her two grandchildren: Randy (Milena) Hanak Jr and Laura (Daniel) Strelitz, and her 2 great-grandchildren: Leana Hanak and Sierra Strelitz. She is also survived by her brother, Harvey Raiman, and was preceded in death by her brother Gilbert Raiman. She was greatly loved and will be deeply missed.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die...” (John 11:25 & 26, NLT)

We invite you to join us in honoring the memory and life of our loved one on this dedicated memorial page. Your condolences, stories, and pictures will be cherished by the family and will provide comfort during this difficult time.

Care entrusted to Beltway Cremation Center, Gaithersburg, MD, 240-246-0400, www.BeltwayCremationCenter.com.