Mary (Quinlan) Kehr Donovan--photo

Mary (Quinlan) Kehr Donovan, 83, of Bristol, widow of Valentine W. Kehr and J. Dickert Donovan, died on Thursday (September 13, 2012) in Bristol. She was the daughter of the late Attorney Edward J. Quinlan and Nancy (Peck) Quinlan and lived in Bristol all her life except six years in Detroit, Michigan where her beloved daughters were born. She was a graduate of Bristol High School, class of 1947, Skidmore College, and received her Master’s in Education at CCSU, after which she taught first grade at the Greene-Hills School for 27 years. She loved to paint, read and travel, but her greatest joy in her later years was her grandchildren and she attended many ball games, track and gymnastic meets. She was a member of the Terpsichore Reading Club, the Bristol Area Retired Teachers with whom she held various offices, and was a regular volunteer at BARC, as well as a volunteer for the Friends of Bristol Library. She was also a volunteer for the former Bristol Symphony. She traveled every summer to Montana to visit daughter Liz and brought each of her grandchildren so they could enjoy the beauty of Glacier National Park, hiking and sledding in July. She is survived by her three daughters and sons-in-law: Patty and Ralph Farrah of West Hartford, Kathy and Gerald Bray of Duxbury, MA, and Liz Kehr and Kevin Feist of Kalispell, Montana; four siblings and their spouses: Nancy and Gary McCarthy of Bristol, Florence and the late Dick Cuenin of Safford, Arizona, John and Deanie Quinlan of West Hartford, and Dr. Edward Quinlan of Honolulu; and six grandchildren: Steven, Christopher, and Kevin Farrah, and Molly, Benjamin and Gregory Bray. She is also survived by nine step-children and their spouses: Deborah Donovan of New London, Jim and Cindy Donovan of Bristol, David and Sue Donovan of Wallingford, Paula and David Johnson, and Anne Donovan and John Lortie of Long Island, ME, Tony and Julie Donovan, John and Robin Donovan, Peter and Elysa Donovan, and Joe and Rennie Donovan, all of the Portland, ME area; 16 step-grandchildren: Jonathan, Patrick and Katie Donovan, Michael, Nathan and Moira Johnson, Alexandra and Laura Jayne Donovan, Mae and Rose Donovan Lortie, Jessica and Andrea Donovan, Meghan and Becky Donovan, Libby and Joseph Donovan; and 6 step great grandchildren. She is also survived by a dear friend, and former principal of Greene-Hills School, Gerald T. Kerr. Funeral services will be held on Monday (September 17, 2012) at 9 AM from Funk Funeral Home, 35 Bellevue Ave., Bristol, to St. Joseph Church, 33 Queen St., Bristol, for a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 AM. Burial will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery, Bristol. Relatives and friends may call at the funeral home on Sunday between 5 and 8 PM. Memorial donations may be made to BARC, 621 Jerome Ave, Bristol, CT 06010 or to the Bristol Area Retired Teachers Scholarship Fund, c/o Elizabeth Phelan, Treasurer, 59 Fox Den Rd., Bristol, CT 06010. Please visit Mary’s memorial web-site at www.FunkFuneralHome.com Tribute for Mary Q. Donovan | Funk Funeral Home, Bristol, CT