Brother Peter Donohue
February 8, 1927 ~ July 26, 2016
Brother Peter Donohue, C.F.X., formerly Brother Owen, 89, a member of the Congregation of the Brothers of St. Francis Xavier for seventy-two years, died Tuesday morning at the Brentwood Rehab. Center in Danvers following a lengthy illness.
Born in Brooklyn, NY on February 8, 1927, he was the son of the late Patrick and Mae (Dolon) Donohue. He graduated from Saint Joseph Juniorate in Peabody in 1944 and entered the Xaverian Brothers, taking the religious name Brother Owen. He would go on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Catholic University in 1949 and a master’s degree from Saint John’s University in 1960.
Brother Peter began his teaching ministry at Flaget High School in Louisville, KY in 1949. The following year he was assigned to St. Xavier High School, also in Louisville, where he taught for five years. After brief stints at the Mission of the Immaculate Conception, Mt. Loretto, on Staten Island and St. John’s High School in Worcester, he returned to Flaget High School in 1960. In 1967, he accepted an assignment at Ryken High School in Leonardtown, MD and in 1970 he was appointed headmaster at the Leonard Hall School in Leonardtown. He served as principal of Mt. St. Joseph High School in Baltimore during the 1972-1973 school year and then began a new chapter in his apostolate, becoming the educational supervisor for the Maryland House of Corrections in Jessup, MD.
Serving in Jessup until 1985, Brother Peter’s ministry took him next to the David School in David, KY where he worked in educational outreach and then to St. Mary’s Human Development Center in Ridgeland, SC where he served as executive director. In 1988, he accepted a position with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Prison Ministry and the following years was named director of the Archdiocesan Department of Detention Ministries. He was a past president of the American Correctional Chaplains Association.
Retiring from prison ministry in 1996, he volunteered for the next thirteen years at Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Xaverian High School in Brooklyn. Brother Peter had been a resident of Xaverian House in Danvers since 2009.
In addition to his brothers in religion, he leaves several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sister Rosetta and his brothers Patrick and John.
His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, July 29, 2016 at 11AM in the Chapel of Saint John’s Preparatory School, 72 Spring St., Danvers. Burial will follow in Xaverian Brothers Cemetery, Danvers. Visitation prior to the Mass from 10AM-11AM in the Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Xaverian Brothers Retirement Fund, 4409 Frederick Ave., Baltimore, MD 21229.
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To the family of Peter Donohue,
I am sorry for your loss. May you find comfort in knowing that “Jehovah is close to the brokenhearted; He saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) With sympathy,