Obituary of Gerald Richard Donahue

GERALD RICHARD DONAHUE, age 78 of Jefferson passed away April 18, 2021. Beloved son of the late Rose Fitzgerald Donahue and the late Dr. Hugh Carroll Donahue. Adored brother of Carroll Swan, cherished uncle of Thomas Swan III (Joe), and grand uncle of Sam, Rosie, Grace, Hope and Jake Swan. Gerald spent the greater part of his life as a member of the St. Coletta community where he touched the lives of so many people with his friendship, enthusiasm and faith.

Gerald, Gerry or Zip, was well known throughout the St Coletta and Jefferson communities.

When introducing himself, he would say, “My name is Gerald Donahue. I am an organist, horse lover and recycler.” In his many years at St Coletta, Gerald would play organ by memory (taught by Sister Miriam Therese) for all masses and the Coletta Franciscan meetings.

His dream was to own a horse ranch. Even though that never came to fruition, he attended any event relating to horses. He even adopted a horse, Duke, at Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

In his free time, Gerald was a recycle of copper wire from cords and especially strings of Christmas lights. Many folks kept him in supply by his request.  He participated in many activities with his housemate of 26 years, Tim, spending time with Tim’s family, as well as his neighbors, and other special friends in the community.  Gerald knew his Jefferson community well, especially those people on his longtime paper route.

He was a Special Olympian, receiving a variety of medals for his different events. He was a S.O. Athlete Health messenger sharing health advice. He was also a member of the Consumer Leadership Committee and a St Coletta Ambassador.

Gerald had an enthusiasm for life ending his statements with a brisk “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah”

But above all else, Gerald was a man of Faith, sharing it with whoever he came into contact.

He will be missed by his St Coletta family as well as the many people who came to know him.  Burial will be at Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, MA. Due to Covid restrictions, burial will be private.

St Coletta will hold a time of remembrance from 12:30-1:00pm and a Memorial Mass at 1:00pm on Thursday, April 29th for St Coletta clients.

These will be live streamed for other community members, family and friends to view.               The link is: https://remote.stcolettawi.org

Visit www.schneidermichaelisfuneralhome.com to leave a condolence for the family.

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