Braceville woman’s life full of travel, giving back

Over the course of 90 years, Sara Donaldson has traveled the world. Some of that has been through volunteering as well as joining her husband, Richard, on business trips. Along the way, she’s collected keepsakes including seashells.

BRACEVILLE — “Nomad” typically explains someone without a permanent residence.

In a sense, it describes a theme that’s been a constant throughout Sara Donaldson’s life, and that’s because she’s been on the go.

It’s a term that also ties in with her charitable nature.

At the age of 90, the Braceville resident continues to be involved in building houses with a group called NOMADS — Nomads On a Mission Active in Divine Service.

The disaster relief organization helps rebuild after natural disasters, hurricanes, fires and floods.

“The way I got in was my husband was a delegate first from our church and then from our district for the Methodist conference, and NOMADS was there,” Donaldson said.

She told her husband, Richard, that they should work with NOMADS upon retirement.

The effort has led her to more than 50 national parks, working at about a dozen of them.

NOMADS hosts training opportunities so volunteers can learn skills such as painting, how to drywall, and so on, Donaldson said.

In a way, moving and exploring have been ingrained in Donaldson.

She was born at home in Windham on Jan. 25, 1924. Within two weeks, the family moved to Braceville.

By the time she was 5 years old, the family moved to another section in the township.

Although her husband also was born in Windham, they didn’t meet until they attended Hiram College.

Her nurturing nature was honed over time as the Donaldson family grew, and they welcomed four daughters. Sara was primarily a stay-at-home mother and paused education but then attended Baldwin Wallace and graduated in 1972.

Over the years, Donaldson said the family moved due to Richard’s teaching positions, eventually settling in Avon for a while.

She accompanied her husband on a handful of trips with his students.

After Donaldson’s husband retired, they traveled the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

Retirement also welcomed a far excursion, Donaldson said.

“That’s when we went to China, and we took my aunt who wanted to see all across the United States and back,” she said.

Following two years of travel, Richard became an adjunct professor at various universities.

Their travels led the Donaldsons to “babysitting” a park through the winter after the matriarch spotted an advertisement for volunteers.

While she’s had some unique ways of traveling, they aren’t the only aspect of it.

Another group that Donaldson holds dear is Friendship Force International.

“Their idea was that people would meet other people and learn to understand different cultures and they would be more likely to be friendly then, understand them, and understand the world better,” she said.

Donaldson said she was able to travel to England, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina and South Africa.

Along the way, she has gathered collections of shells and photos of lighthouses while creating a beautiful garden. They are all keepsakes and advice garnered from her lifetime of travel.

To suggest a Friday profile, contact Metro Editor Marly Reichert at mreichert@tribtoday.com or Features Editor Ashley Fox at afox@tribtoday.com.