Mary E. (Ondracek) Donovan

Mary E. Donovan, 82, of Omaha, formerly of Oakland, Nebraska, died on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in Omaha, Nebraska.  

A Memorial Mass will be held at 10:30 AM on May 3, 2024, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church (300 West Wicklow) in Greeley, Nebraska.  Father Lawrence Vadakkan will be presiding.  Inurnment will be held in the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Greeley, Nebraska.  

Family will greet friends from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM on May 2, 2024, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, followed by a Rosary from 7:00 PM to 7:30 PM.  Jacobsen-Greenway-Dietz Funeral Home in St. Paul is assisting the family.  Memorials are suggested to Golden Oaks Senior Center in Oakland, Nebraska, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Greeley, or St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lyons, Nebraska.

Mary was born on February 25, 1942, to Ernest and Mary (Walsh) Ondracek in Greeley, Nebraska.  Mary overcame polio as a young child and graduated from Greeley’s Sacred Heart High school in 1960.  She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Records from the College of St. Mary’s in 1966.

Mary wed William (Bill) Donovan on April 27, 1968, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Greely, NE. They were blessed with four children. Mary worked in Medical Records before raising her children and serving as the bookkeeper for the family’s grocery store for eight years.  She later was a teacher’s aide at a small country school near Oakland.

Mary loved attending her grandchildren’s activities.  She volunteered to run a sing-along at the Oakland nursing home and often visited the sick and shut-ins.  Mary enjoyed music, playing cards and games, and baking -- especially her family’s favorite cherry pie!

Mary was a regular participant at the Golden Oaks Senior Center in Oakland and a member of the Altar Society at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, of which she was a former Woman of the Year.  She was active in the Mothers of Twins Club when her children were young.

Those left to cherish her memory include her husband, William “Bill” Donovan; son and daughter-in-law, James “Jim” and Janet Donovan; daughters and sons-in-law, Margaret “Meg” Donovan, Mary Donovan Martello and Subby Martello, Kathleen and Clayton Carlin; grandchildren, Bill Donovan, Alexandria (Cam) Dacanay, Lance (Karly) Donovan, Patrick Westby, Jacob Westby, Carsen Carlin, Julia Carlin, Clayton Carlin, Brady Carlin, Cole Carlin, Conner Carlin; 1 great-grandchild, Boston Donovan; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Dick Rech, Bob and Jean Donovan, Dan and Patty Donovan, Dave Donovan, Dave Maiefski; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, Betty Ondracek, Carol and Larry Schieffer, Marilyn Sonenberg, Lisa and Joe Kucera.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Anne Rech; brothers, Jim Ondracek and Joe Ondracek; sister-in-law, Susan Maiefski.  

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