January 14, 1986 - Donna Reed dies of pancreatic cancer.
On December 10, 1985, Donna Reed entered Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills with a bleeding ulcer. Exploratory surgery revealed that she had pancreatic cancer. It was malignant, and there was little that doctors could do.
She was released from the hospital on Christmas Eve to spend the holidays with her family. Her condition seemed to be improving but she died in her Beverly Hills home at 9:15 a.m. on January 14, 1986. Her husband of twelve years, Grover Asmus, was at her side.
- Donna Reed, A Bio-Bibliography by Brenda Scott Royce.