Richard Cushman Priddie Donovan

DONOVAN, RICHARD CUSHMAN PRIDDIE, 86, died Sunday, October 7th in Essex, CT after a brief illness. He moved to Essex in 2003 from Pelham, NY, his home for 50 years. He was an attorney practicing municipal bond law in New York City.

In 1953 'Dick' Donovan joined the law firm of Sullivan, Donovan, Henehan, and Hanrahan, which his father Gerald Donovan co-founded in 1928. Dick practiced there his entire career, retiring as the senior partner in 2003, when he closed the firm. For many years the firm was known simply as Sullivan Donovan. In 1948 he graduated first in his class from Cornell University Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review. Before entering private practice, he served as a staff attorney to the SEC in Washington, DC, and as an Assistant US Attorney in the Southern District of NY. From 1969 to 2003 Dick served on the Board of Directors of NY Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children and as its Secretary from 1971 to 1991. He served on the Board of Trustees of New Rochelle Hospital Medical Center (now the Sound Shore Medical Center of Westchester) from 1974 to 2003. Dick was born in New York City on August 14, 1921 to Gerald Donovan and the former Louise Wiess Priddie of Beaumont, TX. He grew up in New Rochelle, NY, and graduated from Iona Preparatory Academy. A 1942, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University, he was also a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. In WWII he served on the battleships USS Alabama and USS South Dakota in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. A Navy Lieutenant at war's end, Dick taught flying at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, FL. His great-uncle, Harry Wiess of Beaumont, Texas, was a founder of the Humble Oil Company, later part of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, now ExxonMobil. Dick was a member of the NYC, New Rochelle, and NYS Bar Associations. For many years he belonged to Yale Club of NYC, Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle, and The Dunes Club in Narragansett, RI.

He was married to the former Edythe Walden Thurber, who died in 2005. He is survived by five children and their spouses/partners: Patrick F. Donovan (and Frances Donovan) of Wakefield, RI; Nena Donovan Levine (and Jeffrey E. Levine, Esq.) of West Hartford, CT; Caroline Donovan, Esq., (and Deborah Burke Karel) of Goldens Bridge, NY; Margaret Donovan (and Sean Donovan) of N. Dorset, VT; and William D. Donovan, M.D., (and Lisa M. Donovan, M.D.) of Old Lyme, CT; by ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A brother, William A. Donovan, Esq. of White Plains, NY, also survives. He was predeceased by his daughter Edythe W. Donovan, Esq.

Services are Saturday, October 13 at 10:30 a.m. at Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Rd, Old Lyme, CT. A reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Brown University Annual Fund, Box 1893, Providence RI 02912 800-662-2266. Annual-Fund@brown.edu and the Essex Meadows Employee Appreciation Fund, 30 Bokum Rd., Essex, CT 06426. Arrangements by Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home, Centerbrook, CT.