Donovan was born on Dec. 6, 1914 in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, N.Y. He worked for steamship and railroad lines in Manhattan before a tour of duty with the Army during World War II.

He moved to California with his lifelong friends William and Caroline Ackerman after the war and began working for Lockheed-Martin in Burbank. Lockheed later brought him to its site in Sunnyvale, where he worked for more than 35 years.

Donovan and his wife, Lucie, had been married for 70 years. She owned a shop in Los Altos called Donovan's Boutique, where Donovan helped by working in the back office for nearly 20 years. He also occupied his time with selling Christmas trees and repairing and reselling old Volkswagens.

He is survived by his wife, who still resides in Sunnyvale, and five of their six children. Donovan also had seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Services have been held.