Donna Jean Spires, Long-Time West Union Resident, Dies at 79

Donna Jean (Johnson) Spires, born and raised in West Union and rooted in Adams County for all of her 79 years, died Sunday, March 29, 2026, at SOMC Inpatient Hospice in Portsmouth.

Her passing came less than four years after the death of her son, Jeff Paul Spires, who died July 2, 2022, at his West Union home at age 56. Jeff, born March 21, 1966, left behind three children who are now among Donna Jean's surviving grandchildren: Cody Paul Spires and his wife Christina of Russellville, Shayna Striblen of Manchester, and Andrew Spires.

Donna Jean was born October 25, 1946, in West Union, the daughter of the late Dillon and Josephine Bredon Johnson. Her husband, Glenn Spires, resides in Bentonville. The extended Johnson and Spires family networks span several Adams County communities, including West Union, Bentonville, and Manchester, as well as Russellville in neighboring Brown County.

Arrangements are being handled by Thompson-Meeker Funeral Home in West Union, part of the Meeker Funeral Home group that also serves Russellville and operates Wilson Funeral Home. Service times and condolence information are available through Thompson-Meeker.

SOMC, the Southern Ohio Medical Center, is a 216-bed, not-for-profit hospital in Portsmouth employing approximately 2,600 workers and more than 140 physicians. Its inpatient hospice and palliative care unit draws patients from Adams County and the broader Appalachian Ohio region.

The family has requested memorial contributions in lieu of flowers to specified local charities; details are included in the obituary notice alongside service times and visitation information.