OTTUMWA — Sister Donna Donovan (Mary Vianney), CHM, a former teacher and active member of St. Mary of the Visitation Parish and the Ottumwa community, died Sept. 12 at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines. She was 77.
She was born June 21, 1941, to James and Sally Rush Donovan in Clinton. She graduated from Ottumwa Heights Academy and College and entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary in Ottumwa on Sept. 8, 1960, professing vows in July 1963. Sr. Donovan earned a B.A. in biology from Marycrest College in Davenport and an M.A. in biology from Ball State University in Indiana through a National Science Foundation grant. She taught junior high school science in Des Moines and Fort Madison and then biology for many years at Assumption High School in Davenport. Later, she returned to Ottumwa to care for her mother.
In Ottumwa, Sr. Donovan served for 15 years on the Salvation Army Advisory Board and on the Citizen’s Advisory Board of the Ottumwa Courier. She was a member of St. Mary of the Visitation Parish where she was active in choir and served on the Ministry of Care Committee for many years.
Her funeral was celebrated Sept. 17 at St. Mary of the Visitation Church. A rosary was held Sept. 18 at the Humility of Mary Center Magnificat Chapel in Davenport and a memorial Mass celebrated Sept. 19 in the center’s chapel. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery in Ottumwa after cremation.
Memorials may be made to the Congregation of the Humility of Mary, 820 W Central Park Ave, Davenport; Seton Catholic School, Ottumwa; or St. Mary of the Visitation Parish, Ottumwa.
