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Harlow Phelps "Bill" Donovan, Jr., a former rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in St. Louis and a former director of the St. Louis Area Food Bank, died Wednesday (Oct. 30, 2002) of complications from cancer at The Riverview Nursing Home in St. Louis. He was 81. He lived in St. Louis.

Mr. Donovan was born and reared in Kirkwood. After serving in the Army Air Forces in World War II, he earned a bachelor's degree in 1950 and a master's degree in 1952 from the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Cambridge, Mass.

In 1958, he became the rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in St. Louis. He served as rector until 1969 and continued to fill in as a temporary rector at the church until last year.

In the late 1960s, Mr. Donovan helped organize the Family Care Health Center of Carondelet. The clinic now has several branches in the St. Louis area.

In the early 1970s, he was among a group that founded the Food Crisis Network, which is now known as the St. Louis Area Food Bank. He became the executive director of the food bank in 1975.

He retired from the food bank in 1986 but continued to work part-time as its grant proposal writer and consultant until last year.

A memorial service will be held at a later date at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 6518 Michigan Avenue. Burial was at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

Among survivors are his wife, Rebecca Romero Donovan; two daughters, Deborah Donovan of Granite City and Mary Donovan of Canyon City, Colo.; a son, Timothy Donovan of St. Louis; and a granddaughter.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the St. Louis Area Foodbank, 5959 St. Louis Avenue, St. Louis, Mo. 63120.

THE ST. LOUIS DEATHS



Published in the Metro section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Sunday, November 3, 2002.
Copyright (C)2002, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

What keeps us going after 20 years? As I see it, it’s the same thing that got us going 20 years ago.

The amazingly complex human brain is terribly vulnerable while it is forming, from five months before a baby is born until two years of age. Adequate food intake by the mother before delivery and by the baby for two years after birth is necessary for the developing brain. Prolonged nutritional deficiency during that time means irreversible brain damage in some degree or another. And that is tragic for the child and for all the rest of us.

Knowing that back then got us going and it keeps us going today because more than 50 percent of those we serve are infants and children. But that is not the only thing that has kept us going through the years. The other is that so many people continue to care and to help in hundreds of ways to keep the Foodbank going. For instance, there are 21 full-time staff members at the Foodbank. For each of them, there are another 10,000 who keep us going in dozens, perhaps hundreds of ways. That adds up to more than 200,000 of you whose caring keeps the effort to feed the hungry going.

Who are these 200,000? Twenty-eight are voluntary members of the Board of Directors. There are 476 volunteers who work in the food salvage project. There are more than 2,000 working as staff or volunteers on the front lines in the 375 charities we serve. There are those who contribute funds and those in firms contributing food. There are those participating in food drives of firms, civic, campus and employee groups. That’s who they are. That’s who you are. That’s what we are…together! Those who need and those who care got us going 20 years ago and keep us going today.

Sincerely,

Harlow (Bill) Donovan
Founding Director

Truer words have never been written.  Like ripples in the water from a thrown rock, our lives impact those around us.  Thank you Bill, you will be sadly missed.