Dawna Robertson Denney

Dawna Robertson Denney of Matoaca, Virginia, passed away peacefully on Thursday, April 13th, 2023.  She was the loving daughter of the late Thomas E. Robertson and Shelvy M. Robertson.  She was the compassionate wife of Christopher C. Denney for the last 25 years and the best friend to their daughter Samantha J. Denney.

She was a 1990 graduate of Matoaca High School.  Dawna received an Associate's Degree from Richard Bland College in 1992, a Bachelor of Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1994, and a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education in 1995 from Virginia Commonwealth University.  Dawna spent 28 years of her professional career as a Chesterfield County Public School teacher, teaching second, third, and fourth grade at Matoaca Elementary School.  She later earned a Post-Master’s Certificate in Educational Leadership and followed up with an endorsement in Special Education.  In 2022, Dawna was selected by her peers as the Matoaca Elementary School Teacher of the Year.  This led Dawna to follow her passion and become the Coordinator of Special Education for Matoaca Elementary.

To know Dawna was to love Dawna.  She was dedicated to the success of each child she had the privilege to teach.  She realized early on in her career that a teacher is sometimes the most constant presence in a child's life.  Dawna firmly believed that to teach a child, you needed to bond with that child and the family.  To Dawna, teaching was not a job or a career.  Teaching was a calling to improve the community around her, one child at a time.  It is these qualities that made Dawna an amazing educator.  

The family will receive family and friends to join them in laughter and share stories about how Dawna positively impacted them in the community she dearly loved on Thursday, April 20, 2023 from 6:00 p.m to 7:30 p. m. at the Matoaca Elementary School  20300 Halloway Ave, South Chesterfield, Virginia 23803. In lieu of flowers, please donate to SOAR365, a local organization creating life-fulfilling opportunities for individuals with disabilities,  or take a moment out of your day to save a life and donate blood to the Red Cross.  Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Colonial Heights Chapel of E. Alvin Small Funeral Homes and Crematory 2033 Boulevard Colonial Heights, Virginia 23834.