Peter Donahue

Peter Donahue died on Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the Community Hospice House in Merrimack, NH. Peter was born in Boston, Mass on January 2, 1950. He is survived by his beloved wife of 48 years, Gail McMorrow Donahue, his loving siblings Kelly and Timothy of Weymouth, Mass, many cousins, nieces, and nephews, and hundreds of friends. He was pre-deceased by his parents Fredda Wickes Donahue and Philip D. Donahue, as well as his only child, Patrick, who died in 2017. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1971, Peter went on to have a varied career. He was a newspaper reporter for the Taunton Gazette, a mental health assistant at Taunton State Hospital, a teacher at the Hillside Middle School in Manchester, and a technical writer for Digital Equipment Corporation in Nashua and at IDE in Bedford, NH. But his favorite position was as a River Conservation Specialist and lobbyist for the Appalachian Mountain Club in Boston. His work was not what made the man. Peter was a kind, compassionate, and gentle person. He believed that everyone possessed dignity and was worthy of his respect. He cared about the environment and served on the Conservation Commission in Taunton and in Nashua after he and Gail moved in 1983. He supported women’s rights, animal rights, and many other causes. His last act of kindness was to donate his brain to Mass General to the Frontal Temporal Disorders research team. Peter had an innate curiosity and a love of learning. He tended to go “all in” on a topic and learn all he could and then move on to the next thing. This included getting his pilot’s license, a technical writer’s certificate from Brandeis, and a formal course in landscape design. At different times in his life he built furniture, taught himself to play the piano and guitar, grew his own vegetables, took ballroom dancing, became a jazz aficionado, and was an avid photographer, even developing his own black and white prints in their only bathroom. That right there proved his family’s love for him. Peter was an avid fan of the Boston sports teams and was very athletic. He played golf his entire life, including in the Digital golf league for many years. He also was a member of the Gate City Striders and ran in three Boston Marathons. He relished time spent outdoors and enjoyed hiking, mountain climbing, rock climbing, and cross-country skiing. He served on the National ski patrol for three years. He played on an adult recreational hockey team and bowled in a Manchester teacher’s league. He also played tennis and coached basketball for the Unitarian Universalist church youth league. While participating in all these activities, Peter displayed a quick wit and loved to laugh and make others laugh with him. His colleagues at Digital remember him fondly with his retorts and observations that made the workplace fun.

Gail would like to especially thank the staffs at the Hillsborough County Nursing Home and at the Hospice House in Merrimack. She is also grateful to Peter’s loyal friends Tom Conley and Richard Ingram and Dr. Brad Dickerson, the Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Frontotemporal Disorders Unit and Neuroimaging Lab in Boston. Peter asked that a service be held in the spring. A Celebration of Life will held on April 20th, at 2pm by the family, at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Nashua, 58 Lowell St, Nashua, NH 03064, followed by a reception in the Church Hall. Donations in Peter’s memory can be made to the Community Hospice House in Merrimack, NH, or the Alzheimer Association of MH and MA at 15 Constitution Dr. Suite 1G, Bedford, NH.