Bernadette C. Donovan
...retired teacher in Methuen and Woburn; Ironstone Farm in Andover, and Echo Ledge Farm in Lyman, NH; 67
LYMAN, NH - Bernadette C. "Katie" (Murphy) Donovan, age 67, a former teacher and co-owner of two working equestrian farms, died Monday afternoon, September 27, at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA. She was the beloved wife of Richard A. Donovan Sr., with whom she had celebrated a 42nd wedding anniversary this past June 23rd.
She was born in Woburn, MA, March 6, 1943, the youngest of seven children of the late Laurence James Murphy and Helen (Sheeran) Murphy. She was raised in Woburn, where she attended St. Charles Grammar and High Schools. Her family moved to Burlington in 1954. She matriculated to Mount Saint Mary's College in Hooksett, NH, where she earned a AB degree in Home Economics, Education and Science. Her teaching career spanned thirty one years in the Methuen and Woburn school systems, ending in retirement in 1995.
She and her husband operated Ironstone Farm in Andover, built by Mr. Donovan, which recently celebrated it's 50th founding anniversary. They co-founded Challenge Unlimited at Ironstone Farm, a horsemanship program for able bodied as well as handicapped individuals. In 2001, the family purchased Echo Ledge Farm in Lyman, NH, where she currently resided.
She was a member of the Pine Grove Grange, Chapter 298, in Bath, NH, the Lisbon, Lyman, and Landaff Historical Society, Massachusetts Teachers Association, the Essex County Bee Keepers Association, and the Essex County Fruit Growers Association.
She was also a member of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish in West Andover.
Besides her husband, she is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Bernadette "Bobbie" Donovan and her husband Steve Taylor of Lyman, NH; a son, Richard A. "Duffy" Donovan Jr., of Lyman, NH; two sisters and a brother-in-law, Helen McLaughlin of Concord, MA, and Julie Brown and her husband Richard of No. Reading; a brother, James M. Murphy of Woburn; and many nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by three siblings, Mary Doherty, Anne Flaherty, and Laurence J. Murphy Jr.
Visiting hours Friday from 5 to 8 in the Tewksbury Funeral Home, corner of Dewey and Main Sts. (Rte 38) TEWKSBURY CENTER, phone (800 in MA or 978) 851 2950. Her funeral will begin Saturday, Oct. 2, at 9:00 a.m. from the funeral home, followed by a Funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. in St. Robert Bellarmine Church, 198 Haggett's Pond Rd., Andover. Burial will follow at West Parish Cemetery, Andover. Flowers are welcome, however, memorials to Challenge Unlimited at Ironstone Farm, 450 Lowell St., Andover, MA 01810 will be appreciated. tewksburyfuneralhome.com