GUDE, Donna

Donna Currier Gude died peacefully in her sleep on May

24, 2022. She was 98 years old.

Born in Gamboa, Panama Canal Zone on August 3, 1923, to

Esther and Clifford Currier, she was preceded in death by her sister, Doris C. Post, and her husband of 60 years, Dr. Albert

Valdemar Gude.

Muvie, as she was known to three generations of her family, moved to Atlanta after marrying A.V. Gude, a young Johns Hopkins doctor and Naval officer she met while studying at the Hopkins School of Nursing during World War II. Muvie and A.V. became members of the Piedmont Hospital medical family while raising five daughters: Helen Coulon (Mike, deceased), Anne Head, Margaret “Peggy” Kessler (Nelson), Donna Barwick (Bill) and Doris Morrison (Bob). She was blessed with 12 grandchildren: Maggie Coulon Catts (Everett), Kenan Coulon Pickens (Neal), Anne Reagan Head Gamble (David), Jacqueline Head Crisci (Rob), Lauren Head Lefeve (Don), Tom Kessler (Amy), Katie Kessler Thompson (Brian), Libby Barwick, Jack Barwick, Matthew Robertson, Alexa Robertson and Margaret Robertson. Muvie is also survived by 11 greatgrandchildren: Michael, Langley and Franklin Pickens; Bennett and Winston Crisci; Davis, Brooks and Chase Kessler; and George, Frank and Louise Lefeve.

In addition to her family, Muvie was also fully devoted to her Catholic faith. She became a communicant of the Cathedral of Christ the King and attended Mass on a regular basis until her health made her visits more weekly than daily. Before the pandemic, she still enjoyed attending Sunday Mass with her daughters, followed by a ritual Waffle House lunch. Muvie was truly the Matriarch of her family. She inspired and taught her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren not by fiat or edict, but by the quiet example of her life. More could be learned from her by watching and listening to her lessons than from any self-help book ever written.

The family wishes to express their deepest gratitude to Muvie’s caregivers at Lenbrook: Barbara Smith, Elizabeth Holmes, Brigette Terry, Ramona Wallace and Valerie Whisby. A celebration of Muvie’s life will take place at the Cathedral of Christ the King on June 13, 2022, at 10:00 AM.