Dona Rae Van Asdale, Folk Artist Who Lived a Life of Imagination, Dies at 86

Dona Rae Van Asdale, a prolific folk artist, potter, writer, and storyteller whose imaginative life spanned decades of creative work and unconventional living, died on March 4, 2026, just shy of her 87th birthday.

Born March 15, 1939, in Salamanca, New York, she experienced a complicated early childhood before being raised by her father, James Signore, and her stepmother, Genevieve (née Heth) Signore, whom she called her “real Mommy.” Her devotion to Genevieve endured throughout her life. For decades she wrote daily letters titled “Letter to Mommy,” recording her observations, reflections, and family stories.

She later married Jerry Van Asdale, with whom she shared fifty years of marriage. In 1983 the couple relocated to the mountains above Tellico Plains, Tennessee, where they built a life devoted to art, music, animals, and reading.

Ms. Van Asdale earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Bowling Green State University and spent much of her life producing a remarkable volume of creative work. Known particularly for her intricate double-walled pottery, she also worked widely in mixed media, creating sculptures, paintings, origami, textiles, and handmade objects.

Her artistic output was prolific. Friends and family recall rooms filled with handmade objects: origami cranes, grapevine sculptures, painted surfaces, carved forms, and clay vessels with expressive faces. Art, for her, was less a profession than a way of interpreting the world.

She also wrote. Her children’s book Simon Seed was published and received a Library of Congress catalog number, a detail she cited with quiet pride.

Ms. Van Asdale was an avid reader with a formidable memory for literature. She often recited poetry—particularly Lewis Carroll and A. A. Milne—and maintained a lifelong fascination with language and storytelling.

She is survived by her husband Gerald “Jerry” Van Asdale; she gave birth to five children, Joseph “Buddy” Sordetto, Genevieve “Jamie” Coleman, Christopher Michael Ragusa, Megan Ann Foglietti, and Damon John Ragusa; she is also survived by, eight grandchildren; her brothers, Steve Signore and John Signore, and other extended family members.

She was preceded in death by her parents, listed above and her brother Dennis “Denny” Signore.

Those closest to her remember a personality that could be both sharp and generous, humorous and reflective. She possessed a formidable wit, a deep imagination, and an uncompromising sense of individuality.

Throughout her life she transformed clay, paper, paint, and words into expressions of a mind that rarely rested.

Her legacy lives on in the stories she told, the objects she made, and the fiercely independent life she lived.

A private family memorial will be held to celebrate her life.