Donahue, Lois Frances Smith

DONAHUE, SMITH

Posted By: John Schulte (email)
Date: 11/1/2005 at 11:46:40

Clinton Herald

Published: October 19, 2005 12:58 pm

Lois Frances Smith Donahue

SPARTA, Wis. — Lois Frances Smith Donahue, 89, of Sparta, died Friday, Oct. 14, 2005, at the Morrow Memorial Home, Sparta.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Prince of Peace Parish, St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Visitation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Schmitz Funeral Home, Clinton, where a 4:45 p.m. parish vigil service will be conducted. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery.

She was born March 18, 1916, at Mercy Hospital, Clinton, to Ernest L. and Katherine E. Walsh Smith. She married Thomas J. Donahue on Nov. 18, 1944, at St. Patrick’s Church. He died in 1974.

She attended St. Patrick’s Grade School and graduated from Mount St. Clare Academy in 1934.

With the exception of four years in Baltimore and three years in Sparta, she lived all of her life in Clinton.

Before her marriage, she was employed as cashier at the Capitol Theatre and then at the service desk with the Interstate Power Co. for five years. In the 1960s she worked in the children’s department of the John D. Van Allen Department store for six years.

She was a member of St. Mary’s Altar and Rosary Society and Mercy Hospital Auxiliary where she volunteered at the Penny Pinchers Thrift and Gift shops. She also volunteered for Meals on Wheels and belonged to the Silver Advantage Club. She was a member of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority since 1936, the Frontier Over 55 luncheon group, AARP and the Daughters of Isabella. In her early years, she was an American Red Cross volunteer and a member of Madonna Circle of Mary’s.

Survivors include six sons: Michael Patrick (Beverly) of Sparta; Daniel Joseph (Janice) of Bloomington, Minn.; James David (Laura) of Newbury Park, Calif.; Stephen Thomas (Sheila) of Eldersburg, Md.; Thomas Francis (Terri) of Dover, N.H., and Paul Donald (Karyn) of Atlanta; many nieces and nephews; 12 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by one son, parents, husband, four sisters and one brother.

Death Date: Oct. 14, 2005