Patrice J. Donovan RSCJ

Donovan, Patrice J. RSCJ ALBANY Patrice J. Donovan RSCJ, 95 years, died at Teresian House on Monday, October 20, 2008. Born in New York, N.Y., June 17, 1913, Patrice was the eldest of the five children of Francis J. Donovan and Patrice Donovan (nee Casey). She grew up on Long Island and graduated from St. Agnes High School in Rockville Center, N.Y. Sr. Donovan received her B.A. in French with a minor in education from Manhattanville College in 1934. The following September she entered the Society of the Sacred Heart at Kenwood in Albany and pronounced her final vows at Kenwood on February 11, 1943. In 1944, she was awarded a B.Mus from Manhattanville College and in 1954, an M.A. in educational psychology from the Catholic University of America. Sr. Donovan began her years of ministry at Elmhurst in Providence, R.I. in 1937, as a teacher of English and French. For the next 14 years, Sister served as dean of students and teacher at Sacred Heart Schools in Noroton, Conn., Rochester, N.Y., Stone Ridge, Washington, DC, and Greenwich, Conn. In 1953, Sr. Donovan was named head mistress of the school in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. After eight years there, Sr. Donovan was then called to be the leader in establishing the new convent and school of the Sacred Heart in Buffalo, N.Y., a work which she undertook with characteristic generosity, creativity and energy. Three years later, Sr. Donovan returned to Bloomfield Hills to be the religious superior of the community. She continued classroom teaching during these years of administration. Sr. Donovan's adventurous spirit prompted her to accept a teaching assignment at the Sacred Heart School in Sydney, Australia and later at the International School in Tokyo, Japan. There she absorbed and delighted in the culture and the beauty of the country. Throughout her life, Sr. Donovan maintained a "citizen of the world outlook that gave her a great breadth of vision and interest." At age 75, she retired from teaching and lived in New York City. During that time, she volunteered for two years as a Eucharistic minister both at Sloan Kettering and on the hospice floor of Cabrini Hospital. She often spoke of her "wonderful, beautiful experiences" in this ministry. Because of failing health, Sr. Donovan returned to Kenwood Convent in 2001. Her contemplative spirit, her joy in her religious vocation, her love of the arts, especially classical music and the opera, her thoughtfulness of others enlivened and enriched her community. In 2007, she brought those same gifts to the community of Teresian House where she found a new ministry among the residents. On the evening of October 20, 2008, Sr. Patrice Donovan died unexpectedly and peacefully. She is survived by her sister, Mary Metzger of Raleigh, N.C., and three generations of loving nieces and nephews. A memorial Mass will be celebrated in the Teresian House Chapel at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 28, 2008.