Michael Sean Donovan
October 29, 1958 – April 30, 2018
At rest in Oakland, California on April 30, 2018, aged 59. Mike waged a courageous fight against cancer for 23 years. He is preceded in death by his parents, John Joseph Donovan,
Jr. and Margaret Abel Donovan, his sister, Eileen Marie Donovan, and his brother, Timothy Christopher Donovan. Mike is survived by his brothers, John Joseph Donovan, III and George Edwin Donovan, and his sisters, Mary Donovan Szarnicki (Robert Szarnicki), Patricia Donovan Jelley (Philip Jelley), and Marian Donovan Corrigan (Daniel Corrigan). He was a loving uncle to Julia Donovan, Jack Donovan, George Donovan, Eileen Corrigan, Dan Corrigan, Jack Corrigan, Will Corrigan, Anna Szarnicki, and Tim Szarnicki. He had many loving extended family members including Lorraine Abel Colburn of Gonzales, California and Donal O’Donovan of Corran South, Leap, West Cork.
A native of Berkeley, Mike was the youngest of a large loving family. He graduated from St. Mary’s College High School and Santa Clara University. Mike was a Commercial Real Estate Broker with Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate’s Oakland Office before co-founding Donovan Commercial Properties with his brother, George. Mike enjoyed great professional success and was well known in the commercial real estate business throughout California.
Golf was one of Mike’s passions and he was a member of Santa Clara University’s Varsity Golf Team. He loved to compete in amateur tournaments not only in Northern California, but also across the United States and in Ireland. He was dedicated to maximizing his potential and enjoyed playing and practicing with his friends at Monterey Peninsula Country Club in Pebble Beach, and Claremont Country Club in Oakland.
Mike’s family and friends will miss his ready smile, gentle manner, and kindness. In response to his own inability to swallow because of his cancer treatments, Mike co-founded the National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders to help others with the same dysphagia. While living in Oakland, he volunteered as a Basketball Coach for Seventh and Eighth Grade boys in Oakland’s inner city. He truly was a man for others, even as he faced his continued cancer treatments.
On Monday, May 14, 2018, at 7:30 pm, a Rosary Vigil will be held at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church located at 30 Mandalay Road, Oakland, California. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 am on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 also at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church. Entombment will immediately follow Mass at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Oakland.
Donations in Mike’s Memory may be made to the National Foundation of Swallowing Disorders, 340 South Lemon Avenue #1740, Walnut, California 91789 or The First Tee of Monterey County, 1551 Beacon Hill Drive, Salinas, California 93905, or St. Mary’s College High School, 1294 Albina Avenue, Albany, California 94706 or to a charity of your choice. Sorensen Chapel FD126 Hayward, CA 510-581-1234