I was watching an old repeat of Dallas and had completely forgotten that Donna Reed played Miss Ellie for awhile. So, I look up to see how long the appearance lasted and when. Just one season and surprisingly enough Donna Reed didn't fall dead on a sidewalk from a stroke. She died of pancreatic cancer exactly 5 months before my wedding in 1986. She was only 57. How odd to think that while she had replaced an ailing Barbara Belle Geddes, she herself was dying. She was such a lovely and classy woman.