Susan Donn has no plans to slow down.
“I am enormously busy, but I don’t know what I do!” she laughs, explaining how this 82-year-old occupies her days. After a long career as a commercial interior designer, and an attorney-husband who still works full-time, it’s no surprise that she stays active and creative.
Born in Mississippi, and a Goucher College graduate with a bachelor’s degree in art, Susan met her husband, Allan, through long-time friend, Patty Wainger.
During Allan’s army career in Maryland, Susan earned another bachelor’s degree from American University, this time in interior design.
In 1982, the couple moved to Allan’s hometown of Norfolk and lived in Ghent for 40 years, before moving to Harbor’s Edge in 2022. “I was quite hesitant to move from a 5,600- square-foot house that had three stories to Harbor’s Edge – into a 2,100-square-foot condo – it’s 1/3 the size!” However, she says, they live among people whom the Donns have known for years, others they have worked with, and newcomers who moved to the area from other places in the United States.
Besides playing bridge and attending Friday night services at Ohef Sholom Temple, Susan practices ballroom and Latin dancing, hobbies that date back 40 years. At Harbor’s Edge, she is trying to start line dance classes, which feature basic ballroom steps. “Dancing keeps the mind active, it’s fun, and it keeps the body moving.”
Susan also dabbles in art. As a painter in high school and college, Susan prefers photography and drawing now more than painting. She also loves to design furniture.
Allan, still active in his tax and business law practice at Willcox Savage, works daily from 8:45 am until 6:45 pm. “He loves his work and his clients,” Susan says.
Exercising with a trainer twice each week, Allan also writes books on partnership law, takes drum lessons, and golfs. “I confess I am a bookaholic,” he notes, adding to his list of hobbies.
Fortunately for the Donns, their adult son, Adam, lives in Ghent. “We get to get together regularly and have a good time with him,” says Susan.
In addition to their home in Norfolk, the Donns spend several weeks each winter at their home in Longboat Key, Fla., where Allan enjoys walking on the beach.