Ethel Donovan Feeney

ETHEL DONOVAN is the daughter of Maurice (Mossie) and Rachel Shannon Donovan. She was born April 18, 1918, in Bernard, Dubuque County, Iowa.

Ethel married William B. Feeney (born May 18, 1918)  on June 18, 1949, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, North Garryowen, Iowa. They had four children:

  • Susan Feeney Vogan—(Rollin Vogan III)
    • Christopher Vogan
  • Julia Feeney Shanky—(Chris Shanky)
    •  Sam Shanky
  • Michael Feeney—(Diane)
    • Megan and Shannon Feeney (twins)
  • John Christopher Feeney (October 24, 1955–March 3, 1973)

Ethel died March 20, 1996, in Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona. Bill died on December 21, 2008, in Mesa, Maricopa County, Arizona.

They are buried in the cemetery at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Garryowen, Iowa.


Ethel Donovan Feeney Obituary – Posted by Telegraph Herald – March 26, 1996

Ethel M. Feeney, 77, of Mesa, Ariz., formerly of Dubuque, died Wednesday morning, March 20, 1996, at Valley Lutheran Hospital, Mesa. Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Resurrection Catholic Church, Dubuque, with burial in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Garryowen, rural Bernard, Iowa.

Friends may call from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Gene Siegert & Son Westview Funeral Home, 2659 Kennedy Road, where there will be a Resurrection Parish Christian wake service at 4:30 p.m.

She was born on April 19, 1918, in Bernard, daughter of Morice [sic] and Rachael (Shannon) Donovan. She married William Feeney on June 18, 1949, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, North Garryowen.

Ethel was born and raised in the Bernard area, where she later taught grade school. She was an employee of the U.S. government in Chicago for over 10 years. She was a member of the Holy Cross Catholic Church, Mesa, and was the founding member of “The Song Birds of Sunland Village” in Mesa.

Ethel loved her family, grandchildren, and her deep faith in her Catholic religion. She enjoyed the springtime, music of the 40s’ and 50s’, sewing, traveling and life.

Surviving are her husband, William Feeney, of Mesa; a son, Michael (Diane), of Scottsdale, Ariz.; two daughters, Susan (Rollin) Vogan III, of Huntersville, N.C., and Julia (Chris) Shanky, of New York; four grandchildren, Christopher Vogan, twins Megan and Shannon Feeney, and Sam Shanky; four brothers, Raymond (Doris) Donovan, Bill Donovan and Leo Donovan, all of Dubuque, and Al Donovan, of Albuquerque, N.M.; a sister, Kathleen Kane, of Dubuque; and a sister-in-law, Mrs. Gerald (Doris) Donovan, of Dubuque.

She was preceded in death by a son, John, in 1973; a brother, Gerald; and her parents.

An Ethel M. Feeney Memorial Fund has been established.

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