Russell Donovan

1939 - 2025

Russell Thomas Donovan died in Roseville, CA on August 27, 2025 as a result of Alzheimer's disease. Russ was born in Boston, MA on May 14, 1939. After high school he joined the Air Force in which he served for 4 years. He then went to college, graduating from UC Davis in 1964. He joined IBM in November of that year working on the Apollo Space Launch in Huntsville, AL. Nine years later he moved to Saratoga, California having been transferred to Palo Alto to work on the Data Dictionary product. Russ spent 29 years at IBM beginning as a programmer and ultimately being the World Wide Marketing Manager for Data Base Products. After retiring from IBM he held marketing positions with Ingress, Praxis, Dataman, and BMC. In 2006 he moved to Granite Bay, CA and ten years later to Roseville, CA.

Russ loved skiing, tennis, and golf. While in Saratoga he was a member of both the Brookside Club in Saratoga and the Courtside Club of Los Gatos. He took up golf again after he retired. He was a member of the Granite Bay Golf Club before moving to Roseville where he played with the Timber Creek Men's Club.

He is survived by his wife, Hattie; his four children Kathlene O'Leary (Tim O'Leary), Linda Donovan, Cynthia Van Duker, and David Donovan (Tina Donovan); his five grandchildren Brian O'Leary, Margaret O'Leary, Nathan Van Duker, Sean Donovan, and Zack Donovan; and his sister Mary Ellen Korda. He was predeceased by his sisters Jane Donovan and Carol Prouty.

Russ lived a full and meaningful life and will be deeply missed.