Donna Raye Carden (nee Martin) went home to the Kingdom of Heaven on Nov. 24, 2023, at Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Donna was born in Pembroke, Va. on March 15, 1947, to Nellie and Watson Martin. The family moved to Blacksburg when Donna was nine years old. Donna Carden graduated from Blacksburg High School in 1965. She then went to work for Blacksburg Laundromat for two years before meeting and marrying James W. Carden in 1967. James and Donna moved to Christiansburg in 1970 and Donna then worked for the Imperial Reading Factory on Roanoke Street for 20-plus years. The family moved to the Belview area of Route 114 in 1979.
Donna was preceded in death by her husband, James W. Carden in May 2017 after 49 years of marriage. She was an active member of the Original Pentecostal Holiness Church in Pulaski, Va. for the last 15 years.
She is survived by two children, a sister-in-law, nephews and nieces, a bonus son, and seven grandchildren. Her sister-in-law, Jean Horton, lives near Chattanooga, Tenn. Her son, Donald W. Carden and his wife, Carolyn Carden, live in Chesterfield, Va. with four grandchildren (Patrick, Liam, Zachary and Cadence Carden). Her oldest grandchild, Kristi N. DeNovo (nee Carden) and her husband Anton live in Sydney, Australia. Her daughter, Melissa “Missy” Carden and her partner Anthony Albert, live in Christiansburg with two other grandchildren, Renay and Peyton Albert. She is also survived by a bonus son, Timothy “Tim” Leake, who lives in Fairlawn.
Donna’s family will accept visitors 4- 6 p.m. at Mullins Funeral Home in Radford (120 West Main St.) on Monday, Dec. 4. The funeral ceremony will be held Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home. Interment will follow in West View Cemetery in Radford.
The Carden family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home & Crematory in Radford.
