Girl Who Got Friend’s Heart Laid to Rest

PATTERSON, Calif. —  Donna Ashlock was laid to rest Friday in a pink casket adorned with roses as family and friends mourned the teen-ager whose heart, transplanted from a youthful admirer, finally gave out.

Donna, 17, had told her parents she wanted a pink casket like one at the recent funeral of a family friend, so they ordered a duplicate after she died on Tuesday while awaiting a new heart, her father, Raymond, said.

An overflow crowd--many of them high school friends--spilled onto the sidewalk for a full block in front of Hillview Funeral Chapel. Those outside, under a partially overcast sky, were told they could view the open casket after the service before interment at Patterson District Cemetery. Six policemen in blue dress uniforms served as pallbearers.

The Rev. Paul Flyfleet, pastor of the Assembly of God Church in Hilmar, thanked God “for the impact she has made on other people’s lives, her courage and her strength.”

Following the hymn “I’m Sheltered in the Arms of God,” Flyfleet described Donna’s life since her heart transplant three years ago.

“She was just a normal, active, loving teen-ager, but she was a teen-ager with great courage,” Flyfleet said. “Twelve times she was in the hospital in San Francisco. When I talked to her, never did she complain about her situation.”