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March 20, 1959, brought Patricia (Buffin) Miles and Roy Miles their second child, Donna Marie Miles. Patsy was thrilled to have a younger sister and later Donna was joined by two more siblings; Walter Lee and Laurrie (Blockhan).
Donna left this earth much too soon, on December 15, 2016.
Donna attended school in Boundary County, where she graduated High School in 1977. Beauty school in Coeur d' Alene was her next stop, where she lived until 2012, when she came back to Bonners Ferry to help her mother during cancer treatments.
Before returning to Bonners, she traveled the world and married Jim Duncan. While married to Jim Duncan, restaurateur, she became a pastry chef for his restaurant, Jimmie D’s.
Her love of travel and far off places was apparent in her collection of art, exotic dishes and reminiscing. Her specialty for the restaurant was cheesecake; in her memory, we are sharing her recipe below. Cooking was her passion, her prowess in the kitchen was mostly shared with her mother the last few years, but appreciated nonetheless.
She was preceded in death by her sister Laurrie Miles- Blockhan (1998), Laurrie’s son, Ryan (1989), and her father, Roy Miles (1981).
Donna is survived by her brother, Walter Lee Miles, and his sons Brandon, Michael and David; niece Kaya Blockham (Laurrie’s daughter), Bret Farber and James Farber (Laurrie’s sons), sister Patsy Miles, Patsy’s daughter Amanda and her grand-niece Elizabeth.
Although not related by blood, the neighbor girls held a very special place in Donna’s heart. She loved every second visiting with the Cushman girls and they brought joy to her world these past years. As Donna’s family, we would like to thank the entire Cushman family for their love and friendship to Donna.
White Chocolate Cheesecake
For the Crust:
2 ½ C crushed graham crackers
2/3 C sugar
½ C Melted Butter
Press all ingredients firmly into a 10” spring-form pan
The filling:
5-8oz Packages Cream cheese room temp
5 eggs
1 ¾ C Sugar
2/3 C Heavy Cream
2/3 C Flour
4 oz Quality white chocolate (melted)
For the top (after the cake has cooled):
½ C sour cream
2 C white chocolate shavings for garnish
Directions: Whip the cream cheese, and sugar until soft add eggs, cream, flour and melted chocolate into the crust. Bake 400* for 20 minutes- reduce temp to 300* and bake for 40 minutes more. Cool. Before serving spread the sour cream and sprinkle the shavings.
Serves 12.