"font-family:">Bernard “Barney” P. Donovan, a longtime resident of Rockville Centre, N.Y. and Orange Beach, died peacefully on Dec. 20, 2011.
"font-family:">Born on Aug. 24, 1927 in Brooklyn, N.Y. and raised in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, the family summered in Belle Harbor, N.Y. and moved to Belle Harbor year-round in 1936.
"font-family:">After graduating from Brooklyn Academy, Mr. Donovan served in the U.S. Army Engineers from October ‘45 until December ‘46. He graduated Fordham University B.A. ‘50 and Brooklyn Law School J.D. ‘53.
"font-family:">His first employment was with Donovan & Leisure, the New York firm headed by William “Wild Bill” Donovan, no relation. After several years with New York Life, he then joined Cushman & Wakefield in New York and spent the rest of his career with the J.C. Penney Realty Corp. in New York.
"font-family:">On Dec. 26, 1953, he was married to Mary Christina Corcoran of the Bronx, N.Y. at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in the Bronx. They were married for nearly 58 years.
"font-family:">Barney Donovan was a devoted husband, father and Catholic. He treasured his boyhood in Belle Harbor and on Rockaway Beach.
"font-family:">He studied the ballet and philosophy; he was a poet, an author and a high-school sprinter. He had a passion for flamenco dancing, golf and conservatism.
"font-family:">He cried with joy when the Dodgers won in ‘55. He was a brilliant and soulful man full of love, compassion, understanding and wit. His life was a never-ending journey of self-creation that encompassed so many friends and voices, and throughout he was always there for us, for Mary.
"font-family:">Mr. Donovan is survived by his wife, Mary C. Donovan of Orange Beach; his son Bernard “Barry” P. Donovan Jr. of Buffalo, N.Y.; daughter, Margaret M. Struble and son-in-law, Glenn C. Struble of Cary, N.C.; and son, Damian P. Donovan and daughter-in-law, Jenny D. Cox of Ridgefield, Conn.
"font-family:">He is also survived by his sister, Joan E. Scolarici of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; and his brother, Brian P. Donovan of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. And he is survived by eight grandchildren, Kathleen, Christine, Alison, Daniel, Quinn, Brian, Derek and James; and two great-grandchildren, Lucy and June.
"font-family:">A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, Dec. 29, at 2 p.m., at Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church at 308 East 22nd Ave., Gulf Shores.
"font-family:">Arrangements by Mack Funeral Home, Robertsdale.
