MARTIN ALOYSIUS DONOVAN is the son of Maurice and Mary Ellen Shanahan Donovan. He was born on December 11, 1894, in Otter Creek, Iowa. His father was 45 and his mother was 34 at the time of his birth.
Martin joined the military in 1917 during WWI. At the time, he resided at the YMCA in Dubuque, Iowa, and was employed as a chauffeur. His physical description was “medium height, slender, blue eyes, and dark hair.”
On May 31, 1922, Martin married Frances Ellen Weaver (born February 6, 1896) in Lansing, Michigan.
Photo credit: Martin and Frances Weaver Donovan on their wedding day.
Martin and Frances had seven children in twelve years:
Frances died on December 25, 1954, at the age of 58. Martin died on April 10, 1987, at the age of 92. They are buried at St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Lansing, Michigan.
Martin Donovan’s obituary, published in the Cascade Pioneer, April 16, 1987, page 7, column 6
Martin Donovan, 92, of Mesa, Arizona, and formerly of Garryowen and Lansing, Michigan; died Friday April 10th, 1987. Funeral services were held at Resurrection Church, Lansing, with Bishop Paul V. Donovan officiating. Interment was in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Lansing, Mich.
He is survived by his wife Myrtle; three daughters, Mrs. Mike Haloweiko, Mrs. Dick Higley, Lansing, Michigan; Rose Ellen Donovan, Oceanside, California; four sons, Martin, New Orleans, La.; Robert, Las Vegas, Nevada; Thomas, Los Angeles, Ca; and Lawrence of Lansing, Michigan; twenty-eight grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Francis; his parents Maurice and Mary Ellen Donovan; his brothers, Richard, John, Mossie (Maurice), and Connie (Cornelius); his sisters, Rose Barrett and Josie Finn. (transcribed by Joseph Cahill)