Thomas J. Donovan, a suburban funeral director for 48 years, was past president of the Chicago Funeral Directors Association. He was a partner in the Oehler Funeral Home, Lee and Perry Streets, Des Plaines, and in the Lauterburg & Oehler Funeral Home, 2000 E. Northwest Highway, Arlington Heights.
Mass for Mr. Donovan, a Des Plaines resident, will be said at 11 a.m. Friday in St. Mary Catholic Church, 794 Pearson St., Des Plaines. He died Monday in Northwest Community Hospital, Arlington Heights.
”For the last few years, he was not as involved in the community, at least at a planning stage, as he had been,” said his longtime partner, Robert E. Schaer. ”Still, he was always available with a helping hand. He was very conscientious and civic-minded.”
His brother-in-law, Dan Brown, was a funeral director and had been with Oehler before Mr. Donovan. Mr. Donovan went to work for the firm in 1938 and later became a partner in both funeral homes.
Mr. Donovan, a native of Blue Island, was president of the Chicago Funeral Directors Association from 1959 to 1961.
Survivors include a stepson, Mark Clancy; a stepdaughter, Kayla Olsen;
and two sisters, Marie O`Connell and Agnes.
