Auburn-haired American child actress. Her parents were Janet/Jeannette Louise (née Herbst, 1893-1945) and Howard Ross Donaldson (1890-1950), who worked various jobs including as a chiropractor, apartment manager, and sanitarium laboratory technician. Nona later graduated from Santa Monica Junior College.
In 1944, Nona became engaged to Army Lt. James Carlton "Jim" Ferrell, Jr. (1919-2004) of Reno, Nevada, whom she met while he was stationed at Camp Haan in Riverside County, California; the couple married in 1946 and remained together for 58 years until his death. They had four daughters, the first of whom, Rita Louise (1951), died in infancy. Jim worked for the Reno downtown Post Office for 40 years, in addition to serving as night manager for a succession of local theaters. After her own passing, Nona was buried at Masonic Memorial Gardens in Reno, Nevada, as were Jim and Rita.
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