Former Middle School language arts teacher Donna Bland Burrows died peacefully at her home in Rolesville, N.C., on March 6, after a long struggle with Parkinson's Disease. She was 78 years old.  

Burrows was a member of the Ravenscroft faculty for 28 years, from 1986 until 2014. In 2000, She was the recipient of the Helton Excellence Award – now known as the Helton-Kalorin Family Endowment – for her ability to make the classroom exciting and encourage a lifelong love of learning. While at Ravenscroft, she was a grade leader for 12 years and a member of multiple committees, including the Crisis Intervention Committee, Wellness Committee, and Strategic Planning Committee. She also served as a faculty advisor to the Middle School Community Council. 

Many on campus remember the book she loved to recommend most was "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk. 

From her obituary, she will be remembered as a kind, loving, selfless and devoted teacher, and a proud daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother. In addition to her love for teaching, she was an avid reader, tennis player, runner, and she hardly ever missed an early morning workout at the A.E. Finley YMCA. 

Burrows is survived by her husband of 57 years Mike Burrows, their children, grandchildren, and her brother and his family. Read the complete online obituary here. 

The family has asked in lieu of flowers, for donations to be made to The Michael J. Fox Parkinson's Foundation. 

A celebration of Donna's life will be held at a later date this spring.