Donna Marie McCaffrey

Sumter, SC......Donna Higham McCaffrey, 91, of Sumter, SC passed away Friday, November 22, 2024, at her home in Sumter. She was born in Meadville, PA on September 3, 1933, the oldest of eight children, to Harry Higham and Edna ReBrassier Higham. Donna graduated from St. Agatha High School of Meadville in1951 and the Spencer Hospital School of Nursing also in Meadville in 1954. She was valedictorian of both of her graduating classes. Upon her graduation she worked as a registered nurse in the maternity ward at Spencer Hospital until 1958 when she married the love of her life, Bernard William (Bill) McCaffrey, a career Air Force Pilot, April 26, 1958, at St. Agatha RC Church in Meadville. She would spend the following 20 years on air bases in Arizona, Kansas, Germany, Texas, and South Carolina raising her five sons, Jude (Daphne), Sean (Annette), Daniel (Veronika), Patrick (Lia) and Michael. After raising her five sons she returned to nursing in 1978 as the supervising registered nurse of the maternity ward at Tuomey Hospital in Sumter until her retirement.

A devoted and loving wife, mother and grandmother, her family was her life. She loved to dote over her twelve McCaffrey grandchildren, Isabelle, Ian, James, Erin, Robert, Shane, Daniel, Sarah, Julianna, Emma, Andrew and Haley.

She is also survived by six siblings, Christine Cronin (Al), Dan Higham (Dolores), Bob Higham (Karen), Anita Carr (George), Mike Higham (Katie) and Jerry Higham (Pam).

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and a brother Richard (Rick) Higham.

She will be interred at Fort Jackson National Cemetery, South Carolina alongside her husband Major Bernard William (Bill) McCaffrey during the ceremony on December 9, 2024, at 3 o’clock. A noon mass at St. Anne St. Jude Church is to be offered in her name. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to your charity of choice or to her favorite charities, St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Doctors Without Borders.

You may go to www.bullockfuneralhome.com to sign the family's guestbook.

The family has chosen Bullock Funeral Home for the arrangements.

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