Harold C. Donegan

1937 - 2021

Harold C. Donegan
Harold C. Donegan, 84, of New Haven passed away on Friday, October 15, 2021. He was the husband of Karen Paulson Donegan for 58 years. Harold was born in New Haven, July 25, 1937, son of the late Harold and Mary (Sullivan) Donegan. He was a graduate of Notre Dame High School in West Haven and was the Valedictorian of the Class of 1955. He was a graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School and was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1966. After law school he attended Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island and served in the United States Navy for 3 years in the Judge Advocate General's Office in the Pentagon. He was honorably discharged as a lieutenant in 1965 and practiced law in New Haven until his retirement in June 2001.
His accomplishments were many: He was a member of the New Haven County Bar Association and served as its President. He served as City of New Haven Corporation Counsel under Mayor Frank Logue. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1976 when Jimmy Carter was nominated. He was a board member of the Greater New Haven Community Foundation for 7 years and served as Board Chair for 2 years. He was on the Board of New Haven Country Club and served as President of NHCC. He served as an advisor to Literacy Volunteers of America. He also spent many years volunteering at St. Bernadette School (in many capacities) where his 4 children attended and St. Bernadette Church, serving on the Parish Council and as a lector for many years.
His interests were many - his love of baseball started as a youngster, and he was lucky enough to play third base for Notre Dame High School and continued to play slow pitch softball into his fifties. The New York Times Crossword Puzzle was a daily necessity. He enjoyed golf from the time he was a teenager and as a member of New Haven Country Club and Foxfire Country Club in Naples, Florida. He travelled the world with Karen. They visited places such as Canada, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, England, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries in Europe and South America.
Besides his wife Karen, he is survived by his son Michael (Becky) and their children Owen, Molly and Maggie; daughter Elizabeth Donegan and her children Eli Rogatz, Bridget Rogatz, Nina Rogatz and Jillian Rogatz; daughter Maura Crepeau (Michael) and their children Ben and Callie, daughter Ellen, sister Anne Kraemer, sister-in-law Betty Ann Donegan and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother John Donegan and sister Mary Acunto and her husband Ray Acunto.
Family and friends are invited to a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Bernadette Church, 385 Townsend Avenue, New Haven, Wednesday morning at 11:00 a.m., masks are required. There will be no calling hours and burial will be a private ceremony at All Saints Cemetery in North Haven, with full military honors. Memorial gifts can be made to the Karen & Harold Donegan Fund at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven by mail to 70 Audubon St., New Haven, CT 06510 or search for the fund name at www.cfgnh.org.
Share a memory, sign his guest book and view the livestream of Harold's funeral mass online at www.iovanne.com. The Iovanne Funeral Home, Inc. is in care of Harold's arrangements.