Eileen "Emmy" Marie (Wallin) Walsh Donovan

1955 - 2022

Eileen "Emmy" Marie (Wallin) Walsh Donovan

1955 ~ 2022

Eileen "Emmy" Marie (Wallin) Walsh Donovan, 66, of Hartland, Minnesota; formerly of Salt Lake City, Utah; raised in Jerome, Idaho; passed away March 14th, 2022, in Minnesota. Eileen was born on November 16, 1955 in Jerome, Idaho to John William Wallin and Martha Jean (Yowell) Wallin. She graduated from Jerome High School in 1974 and in 1976 from a Radiology Technician program at Bannock Memorial Hospital in Pocatello, Idaho. She later moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, and initially worked at Primary Children's Hospital and then for thirty years for a health services company, Optum. As successful as she was in her professional achievements, the greatest impact she made was in the individual relationships she had with those around her.

She had a great sense of humor and a quick wit. She was someone you wanted to hold onto. Someone who made it hard to say goodbye.

She had a gift for connecting with people. You wanted to be around her. She wasn't just there, she was present. She didn't just see things, she noticed them. She seemed to have an unlimited capacity to love others. Every brother, sister, niece or nephew felt like they were her favorite. Every friend felt like they were a brother or a sister.

Eileen was an avid outdoor enthusiast. She loved to ski, bike, hike, and raft. She was always up for an adventure. Everything she did was done big and done well. She excelled in anything she set her mind to.

She married the love of her life, Tim Donovan, on February 14th, 2020. She is survived by him, stepsons Andrew (Rebecca) Donovan, St. George, Kansas, and Nathaniel (Carlie) Donovan, Bloomington, Minnesota; mother Martha Jean Wallin, Jerome, Idaho; brothers Craig (Carolyn), Salt Lake City Utah; Dennis, Mackay, Idaho; Brent (Lisa), Logan, Utah; Bruce (Michelle), Kennewick, Washington; sister Amy (Les) Harper, Buhl, Idaho; and many nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, whom she loved, spoiled, and treated as if they were her own children. She was preceded in death by her father, John William Wallin.

A funeral mass for Eileen was held at All Saints Catholic Church in New Richland, Minnesota, on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. Inurnment will be at the Jerome, Idaho cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, May 27th, at 1:00 p.m. in the St. Jerome's Parish Hall, 216 2nd Ave. East, Jerome, Idaho.

In memory of Eileen, please consider a donation to The Sharing Place (grief support for children) in Salt Lake City (thesharingplace.org). Eileen was a volunteer there for many years and it held a very special place in her heart.