Dayna had a lot of names in her life — Big Boss and Dayna, Sister, Mom, Grandma, Friend and a dozen more, depending on when and where you met her. Each Dayna was different, and each was the same: loving, accepting and brighteyed.

You could find Big Boss in California, her birthplace, growing up the youngest in a house of four girls, her parents, a few dogs and one bathroom. You might have spotted her sneaking off to the candy store with her great grandfather to buy 1-cent candy, or a few years later training at Cahill’s Judo Academy, where she earned her black belt, which was something she was always proud of.

In her teenage years, you’d spot Dayna smiling and cruising around the Bay Area in a blue 1979 Camaro that she paid for with money from a job at McDonald’s.

You could find Mom in Texas, a tattooed single mother to two boys, working hard as a waitress six days a week. After work, you might catch Dayna at a little league game or hosting the neighborhood kids for a water balloon fight or a slip-n-side party.

Dayna loved kids — not just her own — but any who found their way to her house to try chicken and dumplings, grilled burgers or rosemary chicken. She made the best food and everyone knew it, including her.

Mom was down to Earth. She was fun. She might take a pause in grilling burgers to teach a teenager twice her size a new judo throw, leaving him flat on the deck in disbelief. She might get a new tattoo on a whim, like the Pokémon on her forearm, because she lost a bet with the kids.

You never knew what you would get with Dayna, except when it came to school, where you might find her chewing out those same kids (whether they were hers or not) for failing a test or forgetting their homework. Academics were important to her, and she took immense pride in her sons attending and graduating from Texas A&M Engineering.

In the Grandma years of her life, you would meet a Dayna with a few more wrinkles, a few more gray hairs, and a whole sleeve of Pokémon tattoos. You could find her working at the same restaurant, mentoring her coworkers with tips she’d learned over the years, or grilling a steak at the home she’d finally paid off — another achievement she was very proud of — or maybe you’d catch her laughing and playing with her beloved grandson, Baby Jake, whom she loved dearly.

Dayna passed away Jan. 26, 2026, at her home in Elgin. She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Beverly, and is survived by her sisters, Corinne, Connie and Dayle; sons, Jacob and Noah (Bubba); daughterin- law, Amanda; grandson, Jacob Jr.; and her dogs, Baby and Lana.

Dayna loved lilies and crime dramas, good food and beaches, laughing and smiling. Most of all, Dayna loved her friends and family.

Dayna would have loved for these same friends and family to join us for a celebration of her life at Elgin Funeral Home Saturday, Feb. 21, at 11 a.m.