Mrs. Elaine M. Donovan, a resident of Andover and beloved wife of the late William D. Donovan, passed away on Saturday, December 14, 2024. She was 93 years old.
Born in Nashua, New Hampshire on June 16, 1931, Elaine was the daughter of the late Robert A. and Loretta M. deMontigny (nee Jeannotte). Elaine went to elementary and junior high school at Notre Dame Academy in Tyngsboro, MA, where she met and kept several lifelong friends before going on to and graduating from Nashua High School. Elaine and her younger sister, Jane, spent summers vacationing at Moody Beach, Maine. It was at the Moody Beach Post Office that Elaine, then a teenager, met the love of her life, Bill Donovan. They would remain sweethearts for the rest of their lives.
After high school, Elaine went to Trinity College in Washington, D.C. while Bill served overseas during the Korean conflict. Elaine and Bill married in 1956, starting and growing a family, first in Worcester, MA, then in Greenfield, MA, then in Nashua and Candia, NH, and finally in their longtime hometown of Andover, MA.
While raising a family, Elaine taught French at Manchester, New Hampshire, Central High School until she retired in the early 1990s. Bill was an insurance executive at American Mutual Liability Insurance Company in Wakefield, MA. But it was always family first for Elaine and Bill. In the winter months, they toted their four daughters off to New England ski areas on most weekends. And just as they had enjoyed Moody Beach vacations as children, Elaine and Bill gave their four daughters the gift of summer vacations on the coast of Maine, first at Moody Beach and later at Boothbay Harbor. Elaine and Bill continued to vacation at Boothbay Harbor during both the summer- and off-seasons until Bill became too ill to continue.
After Bill’s death in 1994, Elaine travelled some, but mainly stayed rooted in Andover to be near her adult daughters, her grandchildren, and, eventually, her great-grandchildren. After her retirement, Elaine spent the snowbird months in Vero Beach, Florida and summer months in Kennebunkport, Maine, where she frequently received her children and grandchildren as visitors. But it was always back home to Andover for the fall and spring.
Elaine remained an avid reader and kept up with current events until the end. What those who knew her and loved her will mostly remember, however, was Elaine’s deep appreciation of the gifts of family, friends, and life itself, as well as the beauty of her beloved New England. Her memory will continue to reside in the hearts of her four daughters, 13 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.
Elaine is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law: Sharon Marie and her husband, Dr. Robert A. Lambert, of York, Maine, Paula Sue and her husband, Peter M. Malaguti, of Andover, Christine Roberta Donovan of Moody, Maine, and Jane Beth and her husband, Douglas E. Huzar, of Newburyport; her grandchildren: Dr. Arthur W. Lambert and his wife, Catherine Smart, Robert A. Lambert and his wife, Nicole, Daniel R. Lambert and his wife, Katelyn Viola, Michael J. Malaguti and his wife, Catherine Cote, Paul D. Malaguti and his wife, Michelle, John P. Malaguti, Meghan M. Saccone and her husband, Alex Berenfeld, Christina L. Saccone, Michael R. Saccone, Jr., William R. Huzar and his wife, Chelsey, Anna B. Bukvic (nee Huzar) and her husband, Dino, Owen J. Huzar and his wife Jessie, and Edward (“Ned”) Huzar and his fiancé, Emily Roush; as well as her great-grandchildren: Jack and Peter Lambert, Elaine and Vincent Lambert, Sophia and Olivia Malaguti, Madeline and Brooke Huzar, and Luka and Leo Bukvic.
Elaine was a long-time parishioner of the St. Augustine Church in Andover. Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Augustine Church, 43 Essex Street, Andover on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 12:00 noon. Relatives and friends are welcome to attend. Calling hours will be held in the Burke-Magliozzi Funeral Home, 390 North Main Street, Andover also on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, from 10 to 11:30 AM. Interment will be held at the Spring Grove Cemetery in Andover. Donations in Elaine's memory may be made to the Kaplan Family Hospice House, 75 Sylvan Street, Danvers, MA 01923. For additional information, please visit. www.burkemagliozzi.com.