William Donahoe

William A. Donahoe, age 84, passed away on December 17, 2018 at his home in Kalispell, MT.  William was a native of Washington, DC.  He was the youngest son of Dr. Walter J. Donahoe and Frances E. Fegan.

Mr. Donahoe graduated from Gonzaga College High School.  He obtained a B.S. degree in History and Government from Georgetown University in 1955. He earned an M.S. degree in Administration with a concentration in international business from George Washington University in 1972. He graduated from the Economic Studies Program at the Foreign Service Institute in 1973.

Mr. Donahoe served in the U.S. Army for 18 months as a radio operator at Berlin Command, West Berlin and one year in a Civil Affairs and Military Government reserve unit in Washington.

Mr. Donahoe’s 34 year career with the Federal Government began as a legislative analyst for the U.S. General Accounting Office. He transferred in 1961 to the U.S Department of Commerce. He retired from the International Trade Administration in 1989 as director of the Office of General Industrial Machinery.

After retiring, he became an adjunct assistant professor of international business at Loyola College in Baltimore, MD and at Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA. He operated a genealogy research business focusing on people who lived in the counties surrounding his home in rural Clarke county and teaching adult education courses on genealogy and tracing Irish ancestry. He authored Five Rivers: Genealogy of the Donahoe and Fegan Families and was working on Farmers and Mariners.

Mr. Donahoe was a member of St. Bridget of Ireland Catholic Church and Knights of Columbus Council # 16938, and had been grand knight of Washington Council # 224, in Washington, DC. He was also a member of the Historical Society of Washington, DC, the National Genealogy Society, the Irish Genealogical Society International of St. Paul, MN, the Genealogical Society of Nova Scotia, the Shenandoah Valley Genealogical Society and local genealogical societies in Livingston and Washtenaw counties in Michigan.

He is survived by his wife Dorothy McQuillan Donahoe, three sons: Bruce Wilkinson (Bridget) of Waialua, HI, Stuart Wilkinson (Sue) of Mammoth Lakes, CA and Dr. Neal Wilkinson (Mary) of Whitefish, MT, and five nieces and nephews: Kathleen Donahoe of Bethesda, MD, Martin Donahoe of Finksburg, MD, Stephen Donahoe of Winter Springs,  FL, Elizabeth Ljungberg of Roswell, GA, and Rita Gaertner of Long Beach, CA and five  grandchildren: Kai, Noa, Lorena, Cole and Natalie Wilkinson. Bill loved his family, friends, and his faith. His dogs are included in the first category.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:30 on Friday December 21, 2018 at Buffalo Hill Funeral Home. Friends are encouraged to visit our website at www.buffalohillfh.com to leave notes of condolence for the family. Buffalo Hill Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for the family.  Donations may be made to your favorite animal rescue league.