A Note From The Publisher's Desk

“The stories are everywhere. They’re in the quiet pride of a new business opening on Main Street. They’re in the shared grief when we lose a neighbor. They’re in the laughter that rings out from the corner seat of the diner.” - Light of a Town, 2025.

We’re a community who grieves together.

It is with deep sadness that we learn of and take note of the passing of Donna Clark. Donna was one of our most devoted and avid readers, and a pillar of the Cedar Springs community.

Donna’s life was woven into the heart of our town. As the former Director of the Cedar Springs Library, she poured her energy, creativity, and determination into making it a place where everyone felt welcome. Her tireless advocacy was instrumental in the vision, planning, and eventual building of our current library, leaving the legacy of her belief that Cedar Springs deserved a vibrant, modern space for learning, gathering, and growing together.

Donna was a passionate champion of literacy and a steadfast supporter of children’s programs. Generations of local families have memories of story hours, summer reading challenges, and special events that she helped to create and nurture. She understood that when you invest in children and their imaginations, you invest in the future of the whole community. Beyond the walls of the library, she was an unwavering advocate for our schools, local museum, and for community development, always asking how we could do more, reach further, and lift each other up.

Donna will be greatly missed by all those whose lives she touched with her conviction and gentle strength. Her legacy lives on in every book opened by a curious child, every gathering in the library she helped build, and every act of kindness inspired by her example of service.

To her family, we extend our heartfelt condolences and prayers. May you find comfort in knowing how deeply Donna was loved and how profoundly she shaped Cedar Springs for the better. God speed, Donna, and may God bless and keep your family in this time of loss.

- Jake Watson,

Publisher, The Cedar Springs Bugle