Cover photo for William Donovan, Jr.'s Obituary
William Donovan, Jr. Profile Photo
1933 William 2021

William Donovan, Jr.

December 16, 1933 — August 22, 2021

William F. Donovan, Jr., 87, of Drexel Hill, PA, passed away on August 22, 2021. Born in Darby, PA to the late William F. Donovan, Sr. and Helen (nee Kelley) Donovan.

William served in the United States Navy in the early 1950s. After he left the Navy, William began to work for his father as a plumber for William F. Donovan and Son. He has held many different positions, some of these including President and Secretary of Philadelphia Suburban PHCC and Pennsylvania PHCC, Mayor of Milbourne, PA, Upper Darby Plumbing License Board, State Director for Philadelphia Suburban, and the list goes on. Bill was a member of PHCC since 1967 and an instructor at the PSA PHCC plumbing school for 27 years.

William loved ballroom dancing, traveling, and attending the Philly Pops with his beloved Judy Gentile. He enjoyed teaching, watching his son run cross country at Belmont, attending formal dances in his tux with Judy in her red ballroom gown and cheering on his grandchildren at their various sporting events and on-stage performances!

William was kind, generous, intelligent, very hardworking, and a jokester. His favorite things were his family, Judy, music, cookies, salmon, and dancing. He loved to travel to Puerto Rico, Ireland, Italy, the sea, and Naylors Run.

William is survived by his beloved children Karen Howard (Luke), Nancy Clemens, Patricia Brennan (Dave), William F. Donovan, III (Patricia), Maureen Helms (Jim) and his loving grandchildren Christian, Stephanie, Billy, Julianne, Patrick, Ryan, Sean, Billy D., Erin, Margo, Colleen, and Shannon.

Relatives and friends are invited to William’s Visitation 7:00-9:00 PM Wednesday, August 25, 2021 and on 9:00-10:00 AM Thursday, August 26, 2021 at The Donohue Funeral Home, 8401 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby, PA 19082, followed by his Funeral Mass 10:30 AM at St. Andrew’s Church, 3500 School Lane, Drexel Hill, PA 19026.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in William’s memory to PSA PHCC William Donovan, Jr. Scholarship, PSA PHCC, 4072 Mount Road, Aston, PA 19014, would be greatly appreciated.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of William Donovan, Jr., please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

7:00 - 9:00 pm

The Donohue Funeral Home - Upper Darby

8401 West Chester Pike, PA 19082

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Visitation

Thursday, August 26, 2021

9:00 - 10:00 am

The Donohue Funeral Home - Upper Darby

8401 West Chester Pike, PA 19082

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Funeral Mass

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Starts at 10:30 am

St. Andrew the Apostle Church

3500 School Ln, Drexel Hill, PA 19026

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Guestbook

Visits: 60

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send Flowers

Send Flowers

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree