Questions remain after death of beloved Citrus Heights gas station barista

By Mike Hazlip—
A local business owner, her employees, and customers are in shock after a longtime barista was found dead at a Citrus Heights home last month.

Karen Pastor, of Pastor’s Valero gas station, said Donna Deal had worked for the business since the early 2000s. Deal was more than an employee, Pastor said, she was like family.

“She’s been to my two daughter’s weddings and been to their baby showers,” Pastor said. “[W]hen this happened, it came definitely as a shock.”

Related: Police investigating report of suspicious death in Citrus Heights

Deal was found dead in a Citrus Heights home on the morning of Dec. 15, 2023. The Sentinel previously reported on a suspicious death investigation in Citrus Heights that occurred on the morning of Dec. 15 on Oakwood Hills Circle. Police did not release a name, but described the deceased as an adult woman.

In a Jan. 4 email to The Sentinel, Police Lt. Wesley Herman said officers responded to a call about a suspicious death, but said authorities had not completed their investigation and noted that “homicide has not been ruled out yet, but is not the current focus of the investigation.”

Another gas station barista at Pastor’s, Charlene Campbell, said one of their regular commercial customers has brought flowers each day since Deal’s death.

“She was family,” Campbell said. “I haven’t known her half as long, but she was family, helped her move, helped her through hard times, good times.”

Deal was estranged from her husband of more than 30 years and was not living in her home at the time of her death, Pastor said. She also suffered the loss of her son about six years ago, Campbell added.

“She’s coming out through the tunnel,” Pastor said. “I asked her two days before she passed, Donna, are you happy? And she comes back and she says, almost, almost happy. This was a lady who’s life was up and down, and that was a good answer to hear at that time.”

Staff at Pastor’s Valero became concerned when Deal didn’t show up for her shift and they were unable to reach her, Pastor said. Then, reports of police activity at the home where Deal lived began to surface, causing more concern among staff.

“Now we’re getting a little frantic because Donna’s supposed to work the night shift,” Pastor said. “Nobody heard from her all day, that was unusual.”

Deal’s daughter, Ashley Anderson, set up a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $2,000 of a $6,000 goal, as of Jan. 20. Anderson calls Deal “a beautiful soul” in the page’s description, which also says: “We unfortunately at this time can not go into detail of her passing.”

Deal’s sense of humor lives on at Pastor’s Valero, Campbell said, adding that she often didn’t realize how funny she was.

“I don’t want her name just forgotten,” Campbell said. “We talk about her here. We talk about her jokes. The little things at work that we remember.”

Pastor is planning a memorial at the business this spring to remember the employee she called “quirky” and “fun.”

“We don’t want her to be forgotten, that’s our main thing,” Pastor said.

Editor’s note: The Sentinel urges readers to use discernment in giving money to online fundraisers. Stories on The Sentinel may reference fundraiser pages as sources of information, but The Sentinel cannot assure that funds donated will be applied for the benefit of the person(s) named as beneficiaries.