Obituary of Donna M. Jenkins

Donna M. Jenkins, age 73, of Toms River, NJ, passed away on Friday, February 6, 2026, at Shorrock Gardens Care Center in Brick, NJ.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, February 14, 2026, from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. at Preston Funeral Home, 153 South Orange Avenue, South Orange, NJ. A prayer service will follow at 11:00 a.m. Interment will take place at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, NJ.

Mrs. Jenkins was born in Orange, NJ, and was raised in South Orange before moving to Hackettstown and later Toms River. She was employed for many years as a Computer Analyst with the Warren County Health Department in Oxford, NJ.  She loved her family, all things holidays and enjoyed art.

Donna (Goo Goo) is survived by her beloved husband, John R. Jenkins, Jr.; her daughter, Christina Dixon; her son, John R. Jenkins III; her sisters, Marian Koste, Patricia Gethard, Cathy Cooper, and Laura Mercadante; her brothers, Joseph, Robert, John, and Mark Mercadante; her son-in-law, Jameson Dixon; her daughter-in-law, Misha Pardubicka-Jenkins; and her cherished grandchildren, Daisy Dixon, Lance Jenkins, Gabriella Jenkins, and Bradley Jenkins, as well as her great-grandchildren Jordan, Micah and Obadiah Trotta.

She was predeceased by her parents, Joseph Mercadante and Carmela (Torsiello) Mercadante, and by her brothers, Donald Mercadante and Richard Mercadante.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Donna’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association Greater New Jersey Chapter Office, 23 Vreeland Road, Suite 105, Florham Park, NJ 07932, or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-1905.

For more information or to send condolences, please visit prestonfuneralhome.net.