Mary Donahoe passed away

She was wife of Jay Donahoe, and mother of Jim and John (just below in these announcements, who both recently passed away), and passed away this past week. Details are yet unknown.

Mary Catherine Donahoe (Sheehan) was born August 17, 1926 and died July 5, 2012 peacefully in her sleep.

She was married in 1950 to John (Jay) Thomas Donahoe, Jr. (deceased) and was the mother of seven: Mary Jo, John (deceased), Daniel, Terrence, Nancy, Joseph and James (deceased). She was preceded in death by her brothers Tommy, James, Jerry, Bernard and her sister Helen and is survived by her sister Margaret. She also is survived by by her grandchildren: Michael, Daniel, Kelly, Shannon, William, Andrew, David and James and her beautiful great granddaughter Madeline.

Mary studied nursing at St. Joseph's School of Nursing, which was affiliated with DePaul University. She received her degree in 1949 and became a registered nurse.

Mary and Jay moved to a farm just outside Hanover Illinois in 1955 and in addition to raising their family here, also managed several thousand head of cattle (most accounted for...some now part of Hanover lore), many dozens of chickens, sheep, cats and some very popular dogs. Mary was also a CCD instructor at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, served proudly as the Hanover Public Library Board President and was an instructor at Highland Community College. Mary intiated the first all-church Bazaar, which continues as a tradition to this day. Mary had many close friends in Hanover who shared her charitable works and commitment to the church and community. Mary and Jay retired to Honolulu, Hawaii in 1987.

Mary Donahoe will always be remembered for her great love of reading, which she imparted to her children, all college graduates. She was also known for having an adventurous spirit and a great sense of humor. Her children can attest to her wide variety of motivational skills.

A funeral mass will be said on August 18, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 110 West Madison Street, Chicago IL. Inurnment will take place at Evergreen Cemetery, Hanover IL at 5:30 that evening. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Franciscans for the World, Attn. Father Mario, 110 West Madison Street, Chicago IL 60602.