Mary Margaret Cummins Donovan
January 13, 1927- May 17, 2023
Mary Margaret Cummins Donovan, 96, died Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at Field Pointe Assisted Living facility in St. Joseph, MO. A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 17, 2023, at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 614 N. Alanthus Ave. in Stanberry, MO, with lunch to follow in the parish hall.
Mary was born on the Cummins family farm near Ford City in Gentry County, Missouri, on Jan. 13, 1927, the second child of John Patrick Cummins and Helen Evans Cummins. She attended grade school at the Walker School before the family moved in 1937 to a farm between King City and Stanberry, where Mary attended the Beggs School through 8th grade.
She graduated from King City High School in 1945 and studied at Mount St. Scholastica Academy in Atchison, KS, before graduating from the Platt-Gard Business University in St. Joseph. After working for two years for the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, Mary moved to Washington, D.C., as under-secretary to U.S. Representative Phil J. Welch in December 1948, in time to be on the inaugural platform for President Harry S Truman's inauguration in January 1949. Mary met her husband-to-be, William J. Donovan, that summer. They were married at St. Peter's in Stanberry on Sept. 13, 1950, and moved to Richmond, VA, where she worked for the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. of Virginia. She moved to the Philadelphia area in 1962, living in Haddon Heights and Haddonfield, NJ, before transferring to Fairfax, VA, where she retired after working nearly 35 years for Bell Telephone. Mary moved back to Stanberry in 1990, building a home designed for her by Stanberry native Curtis Besinger, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. She moved to an independent-living apartment in the Benedictine Living Community – St. Joseph in 2016.
Mary was a creative and independent woman – our family historian; a writer of poems, her memoir and more than 80 years of journal entries; a lover of prairies, trees, flowers, birds, music, books, art and antiques. She was a devoted Oblate of Conception Abbey, where she will be inurned at the adjoining St. Columba Cemetery.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and her brothers, Robert and Richard Cummins. She is survived by her sister, Carole L. Spurgin of Bethesda, MD, and her nieces and nephews: Edward J. Cummins (Chrissy) of Baneberry, TN; Marilyn L. Cummins (Neal Fandek) of Columbia, MO; Richard A. Cummins (Deborah) of Lansdale, PA; Robert T. Cummins of Howell, NJ; Mary E. Ferrara of Hellertown, PA; Patricia Kesler (Mark) of Phoenix, OR; Valerie C. Kisling (Robert) of Stillwater, OK; Alan P. Spurgin (Stephanie) of Hillsborough, NC; Elizabeth A. Spurgin of Bethesda, MD; and their children and grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to Conception Abbey or St. Peter's Church. Online guest book and obituary are at www.meierhoffer.com.
January 13, 1927- May 17, 2023
Mary Margaret Cummins Donovan, 96, died Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at Field Pointe Assisted Living facility in St. Joseph, MO. A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 17, 2023, at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 614 N. Alanthus Ave. in Stanberry, MO, with lunch to follow in the parish hall.
Mary was born on the Cummins family farm near Ford City in Gentry County, Missouri, on Jan. 13, 1927, the second child of John Patrick Cummins and Helen Evans Cummins. She attended grade school at the Walker School before the family moved in 1937 to a farm between King City and Stanberry, where Mary attended the Beggs School through 8th grade.
She graduated from King City High School in 1945 and studied at Mount St. Scholastica Academy in Atchison, KS, before graduating from the Platt-Gard Business University in St. Joseph. After working for two years for the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, Mary moved to Washington, D.C., as under-secretary to U.S. Representative Phil J. Welch in December 1948, in time to be on the inaugural platform for President Harry S Truman's inauguration in January 1949. Mary met her husband-to-be, William J. Donovan, that summer. They were married at St. Peter's in Stanberry on Sept. 13, 1950, and moved to Richmond, VA, where she worked for the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. of Virginia. She moved to the Philadelphia area in 1962, living in Haddon Heights and Haddonfield, NJ, before transferring to Fairfax, VA, where she retired after working nearly 35 years for Bell Telephone. Mary moved back to Stanberry in 1990, building a home designed for her by Stanberry native Curtis Besinger, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. She moved to an independent-living apartment in the Benedictine Living Community – St. Joseph in 2016.
Mary was a creative and independent woman – our family historian; a writer of poems, her memoir and more than 80 years of journal entries; a lover of prairies, trees, flowers, birds, music, books, art and antiques. She was a devoted Oblate of Conception Abbey, where she will be inurned at the adjoining St. Columba Cemetery.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and her brothers, Robert and Richard Cummins. She is survived by her sister, Carole L. Spurgin of Bethesda, MD, and her nieces and nephews: Edward J. Cummins (Chrissy) of Baneberry, TN; Marilyn L. Cummins (Neal Fandek) of Columbia, MO; Richard A. Cummins (Deborah) of Lansdale, PA; Robert T. Cummins of Howell, NJ; Mary E. Ferrara of Hellertown, PA; Patricia Kesler (Mark) of Phoenix, OR; Valerie C. Kisling (Robert) of Stillwater, OK; Alan P. Spurgin (Stephanie) of Hillsborough, NC; Elizabeth A. Spurgin of Bethesda, MD; and their children and grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to Conception Abbey or St. Peter's Church. Online guest book and obituary are at www.meierhoffer.com.
Mary Margaret Cummins Donovan
January 13, 1927- May 17, 2023
Mary Margaret Cummins Donovan, 96, died Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at Field Pointe Assisted Living facility in St. Joseph, MO. A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 17, 2023, at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 614 N. Alanthus Ave. in Stanberry, MO, with lunch to follow in the parish hall.
Mary was born on the Cummins family farm near Ford City in Gentry County, Missouri, on Jan. 13, 1927, the second child of John Patrick Cummins and Helen Evans Cummins. She attended grade school at the Walker School before the family moved in 1937 to a farm between King City and Stanberry, where Mary attended the Beggs School through 8th grade.
She graduated from King City High School in 1945 and studied at Mount St. Scholastica Academy in Atchison, KS, before graduating from the Platt-Gard Business University in St. Joseph. After working for two years for the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, Mary moved to Washington, D.C., as under-secretary to U.S. Representative Phil J. Welch in December 1948, in time to be on the inaugural platform for President Harry S Truman's inauguration in January 1949. Mary met her husband-to-be, William J. Donovan, that summer. They were married at St. Peter's in Stanberry on Sept. 13, 1950, and moved to Richmond, VA, where she worked for the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. of Virginia. She moved to the Philadelphia area in 1962, living in Haddon Heights and Haddonfield, NJ, before transferring to Fairfax, VA, where she retired after working nearly 35 years for Bell Telephone. Mary moved back to Stanberry in 1990, building a home designed for her by Stanberry native Curtis Besinger, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. She moved to an independent-living apartment in the Benedictine Living Community – St. Joseph in 2016.
Mary was a creative and independent woman – our family historian; a writer of poems, her memoir and more than 80 years of journal entries; a lover of prairies, trees, flowers, birds, music, books, art and antiques. She was a devoted Oblate of Conception Abbey, where she will be inurned at the adjoining St. Columba Cemetery.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and her brothers, Robert and Richard Cummins. She is survived by her sister, Carole L. Spurgin of Bethesda, MD, and her nieces and nephews: Edward J. Cummins (Chrissy) of Baneberry, TN; Marilyn L. Cummins (Neal Fandek) of Columbia, MO; Richard A. Cummins (Deborah) of Lansdale, PA; Robert T. Cummins of Howell, NJ; Mary E. Ferrara of Hellertown, PA; Patricia Kesler (Mark) of Phoenix, OR; Valerie C. Kisling (Robert) of Stillwater, OK; Alan P. Spurgin (Stephanie) of Hillsborough, NC; Elizabeth A. Spurgin of Bethesda, MD; and their children and grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to Conception Abbey or St. Peter's Church. Online guest book and obituary are at www.meierhoffer.com.
January 13, 1927- May 17, 2023
Mary Margaret Cummins Donovan, 96, died Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at Field Pointe Assisted Living facility in St. Joseph, MO. A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 17, 2023, at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 614 N. Alanthus Ave. in Stanberry, MO, with lunch to follow in the parish hall.
Mary was born on the Cummins family farm near Ford City in Gentry County, Missouri, on Jan. 13, 1927, the second child of John Patrick Cummins and Helen Evans Cummins. She attended grade school at the Walker School before the family moved in 1937 to a farm between King City and Stanberry, where Mary attended the Beggs School through 8th grade.
She graduated from King City High School in 1945 and studied at Mount St. Scholastica Academy in Atchison, KS, before graduating from the Platt-Gard Business University in St. Joseph. After working for two years for the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, Mary moved to Washington, D.C., as under-secretary to U.S. Representative Phil J. Welch in December 1948, in time to be on the inaugural platform for President Harry S Truman's inauguration in January 1949. Mary met her husband-to-be, William J. Donovan, that summer. They were married at St. Peter's in Stanberry on Sept. 13, 1950, and moved to Richmond, VA, where she worked for the Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. of Virginia. She moved to the Philadelphia area in 1962, living in Haddon Heights and Haddonfield, NJ, before transferring to Fairfax, VA, where she retired after working nearly 35 years for Bell Telephone. Mary moved back to Stanberry in 1990, building a home designed for her by Stanberry native Curtis Besinger, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. She moved to an independent-living apartment in the Benedictine Living Community – St. Joseph in 2016.
Mary was a creative and independent woman – our family historian; a writer of poems, her memoir and more than 80 years of journal entries; a lover of prairies, trees, flowers, birds, music, books, art and antiques. She was a devoted Oblate of Conception Abbey, where she will be inurned at the adjoining St. Columba Cemetery.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, and her brothers, Robert and Richard Cummins. She is survived by her sister, Carole L. Spurgin of Bethesda, MD, and her nieces and nephews: Edward J. Cummins (Chrissy) of Baneberry, TN; Marilyn L. Cummins (Neal Fandek) of Columbia, MO; Richard A. Cummins (Deborah) of Lansdale, PA; Robert T. Cummins of Howell, NJ; Mary E. Ferrara of Hellertown, PA; Patricia Kesler (Mark) of Phoenix, OR; Valerie C. Kisling (Robert) of Stillwater, OK; Alan P. Spurgin (Stephanie) of Hillsborough, NC; Elizabeth A. Spurgin of Bethesda, MD; and their children and grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to Conception Abbey or St. Peter's Church. Online guest book and obituary are at www.meierhoffer.com.
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