No farewell words were spoken,
No time to say good-bye.
You were gone before we knew it,
And only God knows why.
Our hearts still ache in sadness,
And secret tears still flow,
What it meant to lose you,
No one will ever know...
--author unknown

Frl Mike and his good friend Joe are together in Heaven, counting all the stars together!

Fr. Mike and his good friend Joe are in heaven counting all the stars together!

Fr. Mike, a great man who was always there. A great priest and a great mentor. I was really shocked to see this obituary. You will be greatly missed.

Father Mike was more than our priest, he was our friend.  We know he is in a much better place and know he is happy there with all his pets.  We will miss him and his history lessons.  We know you are in peace now.

Father Mike - you performed baptisms, marriage ceremonies and funeral masses for our family the last 30 years.  We were so blessed to have you in our lives.  It was such a pleasure to listen to your sermons, such an educated and interesting man.  God Bless you, you will be missed.

Today we send home a very wonderful and inspirational man. Father Mike you were the very reason Brian and I restored our faith in the church. We will miss you greatly. Brian and Bernadette Kurka

Father Mike, you will be greatly missed. Thank you for touching our lives. May you rest in peace! God Bless you!

I was so sadden to hear that Fr. Mike had passed away.  He was such a wonderful priest and I will always be grateful to him for being there for our family when my dad was dying.  His words and the time he spent with us at the hospital were so comforting.  I am going to miss him so much.  Rest in Peace Fr. Mike.

Fr. Mike, We are broken-hearted since we heard, here in Florida, about your death. It was just a few days ago, that we celebrated our 50th Anniversary with our entire family, and it brought fond memories of just 7 months ago, when you celebrated your 50th Anniversary with your entire flock. As a man, you were the perfect blend of a brilliant mind and a kind and loving heart. As a priest, you were a magnificent confessor, spiritual director, teacher, preacher, shepherd, and minister of the Sacraments. As a friend, you are irreplaceable. Now, you have entered into the bosom of The Lord and can directly receive His words: "Well done, good and faithful servant!" Please pray for us. God Bless you, Fr. Mike.  ~  Dick and Kathy Wroblewski, Warren, MI & TheVillages, FL

Fr. Mike was my priest from when I was just a toddler to when I moved out of Roseville in my early 20s. He is a huge part of my formative years and a comforting presence in many a cherished memory. He will be met by many who'll happily and lovingly welcome him in Heaven. Say hi to my Gram & Buzzy, Fr. Mike. Your words, wisdom and work will be missed here on earth and held forever in our hearts.

Fr. Mike was an insperation to all of us. He married me and my wife in 1985, and baptized all my children. After St. Donalds closed, it was really never the same. No one could deliver a sermon like him. We will all miss him.

God Bless you Fr. Mike

A great man taken too soon. You will be missed by many. May you rest in peace.

I decided to join St. Donald's parish after attending  Fred Kudla's funeral there.  His wife, Janet, spoke so highly of Fr. Mike and I was not happy at my parish at the time.  I started to attend mass at St. Donalds and decided this was the parish for me to join and I am so glad I did. A few of my co-workers were members of St. Donald's also.  Since Fr. Mike's retirement I haven't found a new parish..still shopping around.  Went to St. A's of course when I could.  Fr. Mike is very hard to replace!!  He will be missed by so many.  Watch over all of us in heaven Fr. Mike!

Fr. Mike, we thank you for your goodness, kindness, and guidance.  Please continue to watch over us.  You will be missed and never forgotten.

Father Mike, we will miss you dearly.  You were beyond your years in understanding the world we live in.  Full of knowledge and wonderful advice.  Brian and I will miss you.

Our hearts and prayers to you and your family, 

Gloria and Brian Rentz

THANK YOU FATHER MIKE YOU ALL YOU DID FOR ALL OF US AT ST.DONALD  R I P NOW WE SURE WILL MISS YOU

We had been going to St.Donalds
for a little over a year and we were truly blessed to know Father Mike. He was such a wonderful,caring and brilliant man.We will miss you Father Mike and will always remember you and your smile.

Bob & Joann Peters 
Chesterfield, Mi


S







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Father Mike married us in August of 2000, and we are blessed to still have one of the dogs (Chloe) from one of the many litters his previous dogs had over the years.  He was a wonderful and thoughtful priest.  It was hard to leave St. Donald when we moved further north.  We got to return to St. Donald on special occasions, and it was always comforting to "come home" for a visit where we were always welcomed with a smile and educating homily.  We will remember him fondly and think of him often for all that was to us and our family of faith.

We will very much miss Father Mike. His Homilys were some of the very best. Not every Priest can give a great homily & Father Mike had a great way of getting the message across. He was so full of history & one could never get bored listening to him. It would have been so nice to be able to have spent more time conversing & listening to him. May he rest in Jesus arms. We love you Father Mike. Robert Russo & Rebecca Ingersoll (Robbie & Becky)

I will forever appreciate his generosity and tenacity. Both went hand in hand with him. I worked at St. Donald Parish for a few years of my youth and Fr. Mike taught me some very valuable lessons that I did not respect until years later. I am grateful to have had his influence on my life.

     I was only at St. Donald's for a year.  I only wish I had more time with Father Mike, but no matter what I was blessed to have known someone so wonderful. My Grand-daughter Lily was baptized shortly before St. Donald's closed and I promise she will know of him.  I agree with Linda when she said, "It was a joy to listen to his educational, interesting, and entertaining sermons", I called him a "Rebel with a Cause" (Respectfully),
     Father Mike, when we meet again, have a sermon waiting for me. You will be greatly missed.

it is nice to know fater michael he well be miss

Father Mike was a truly inspriational and kind man.  He will be surely missed.  I take comfort in knowing my Aunt Joyce and Uncle Vern will be there to greet him in heaven.

Father Mike,Mickey as he is known to his family, was special in some way to each of us. Whether our memories are childhood, recent, or both, his presence in our lives was a blessing. After being devastated by the loss of his young sister, Margie, to illness, he managed to continue his lifes work of dedication to others without taking time for his own grief. Some years later, in a sense, he lost his sister Patty to a life of poverty, prayer and solitude. He managed to stay in touch with her by mail because she has no phone, and even though their viewpoints didn't match most often - well pretty much not at all - he loved her dearly and, up to the time of his death, was always prepared to do what he could for her. Mickey was a natural giver of himself. I doubt that he ever said no to any of us.  Nick and I were the luckiest of all, having him be a special part of our lives for more than 30 years. Our children and grandchildren will always remember his generous, loving ways and his endless wealth of knowledge. I am gratified that he knew he was always welcome in our home and that he was so comfortable sharing with us his personal feelings of satisfaction or disappointment. He and Nick were the best of friends and when the two of them laughed, the walls would shake! Oh, how I will miss him, and how sad for me that I am away at this time. When the thunder rolls, I will know he found Nick and the laughs are continuing! Rest in peace my dear, dear friend.
                                                                                           Diane Showich

Father  Mike  you touched my  heart  with many wonderful  blessings.   My heart  is broken  I will  always remember your  wonderful smile You made Mass very enjoyable  and educational,  and  I always looked forward  coming to mass to hear you.  You will be  missed very very much

Fr. Mike was truly a shepherd over his people of St. Donald's and someone we will never forget.  He was an honorable man and one of the most patriotic men I have ever met.  He knew what was important in life, God, family, country, and had brilliant ways of getting his message across.  Since his retirement I have been praying that my family and I would find a parish where we would feel at home again.  His occasional masses at St A's helped.  He was a gift and his passing is a huge loss.   Pray for us Fr. Mike as we are all praying for you.   Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon him. May you rest in peace Fr Mike.

We will never forget Father Mike, he was always good to our family. He made us feel so welcome when we came to the parish. Our prayers and thoughts! We love you Father Mike.

MichaeI was to say the least a unique individual. I first met him in the second grade at St. Theresa's school. We both entered the seminary in the 9th grade as day students. He was an outstanding student and helped me in a number of courses,e.g. biology and philosophy. We lost touch after our ordinations but were able to  exchange emails at the time of his 50th anniversary. May he rest in peace!

GOD BLESS YOU FATHER FOR ALL YOU DID MAY YOU REST IN PEACE NOW

Father Mike was very much a true blessing and will be very missed by the Catholic family of former St. Donald's and St. Athanasius as well.  He was very caring priest, and was always there to lend a ear to any concern that I and or any family member had too.  Will be very missed by all

i HAVE BEEN GOING TO St. DONALDS for a year, then it closed and me and my sister turned to ST. A,S for about 7months now. My Sister got me to star going back to church Farther Mike was the big reason why I stad going. I will miss him very much.

Fr Mike,
I know you have enjoyed your last eight months of retirement, far too short for all of us who played a role in your life and ministries, but now you can finally rest in peace. Watch over us, guide us when we need guidance and most of all thank you for teachings your inspirations and your true friendship. So long friend !!!!

Mass won't be the same with out you. "Thank You" for being with us at St. Donald"s

The easy part was being a parishioner at St. Donals's church for over 20 years and having Father Mike as the sole pastor.  He baptized our 3 children,gave them their first Holy Communion and confirmed all but one of them.  It was a joy to listen to his educational, interesting, and entertaining sermons and to become friends with him.  I learned so much about religion and the many other topics that he was an expert on.  The better I got to know him, the more I appreciated him.  I will never forget how he was there for our family in the most difficult times and how and how he went above and beyond to help and guide us.  He lead not only with his words but by example.  
 The hard part will be to put his teachings into action without his presence.  I hope he knows how much he was loved and appreciated.

Father Mike was special to our Church and his parishioners.  He served us well and will be forever missed.

Father Mike was a very good Friend of ours.  We have known him since he became Pastor of St. Donald's Church in Roseville nearly 30 years ago.  He will be greatly missed by all.  We had served under him in many ways including Eucaristic Minister, funeral luncheons,  bingos,etc.

You will truly be missed. Been at St. Donald's 47 years.

Father Mike Donovan was one of the last true Renaissance men.  He was a Catholic, a pastor, a priest, an author, a bibliophile, a professor, a teacher, a mentor, a historian, an astronomer, a vet, a pharmacologist, a gemologist, a coin collector, and on and on.
He wasn't a person who knew a little bit about lot things.  He was a person who he knew a lot about everything.  He really had a gift for sharing his knowledge.  This is why he could drive home life lessons from the Bible like no other.  
Yet, he didn't pontificate.  He didn't try to impress anyone with his superior knowledge. Although not many left his company without saying or thinking, “he's really smart.”   He didn't talk over anyone's head (well, maybe sometimes, but if he did, he didn't mean to).  On the contrary, he was so down to earth, so funny, so self-deprecating and so real, that you wanted to listen.  You wanted to learn.  You wanted follow his lead. You wanted to be more Catholic.
He made mass fun.  It seemed at every mass, there was a “laugh out loud” moment.  He didn't plan these moments; they just happened.  And most were followed by his exclamation of, “Oh Dear God!”  At mass, I heard about his loose dentures, his dog having puppies on his bed, his dog living in his old car, his turtle eating his books and magazines, and a whole slew of other problems he found himself in on a daily basis.  Some of the best moments were conversations between him from the pulpit and whoever he picked out in the mass: the usher Joe Szymanski, his old piano teacher, a relative who was hard of hearing, a friend, or a parishioner.  You never knew what was going to be said, but you knew it was going to end up being funny.  You just didn't want to miss mass.
That wasn't the only reason you wanted to attend mass.  He also had his serious side, and he wasn't afraid to take a stand, regardless of the consequences.  He made us fully aware of the Catholic Church's historical indiscretions.  He confronted all of the controversial issues facing the Church today.  
He also made sure to say that the problems of the Catholic Church should not be a reflection on Catholicism.  It's not the religion that is the issue.  “Remember,” he would tell us, “all of you are the Catholic Church.   It's up to us to change the Church.”
Yes, Father Mike, I will miss you.  You were one of a kind.  You meant more to me and my family than you'll ever know. I've never met someone as generous as you, especially with your time and energy.  You were a person who put your beliefs into actions.  It's one of the things I admired most about you.  
 I started coming to mass because you were the first priest I ever met who said, “I think you understand those readings so let's skip the sermon today.”  We were out of mass in 37 minutes.  I said to myself, “now, this is the church I want to go to.” 
 As time went on, and I heard your sermons, and you got me to volunteer as a Religious Formation Program facilitator, and you taught me more and more, I enjoyed the “let's skip the sermon today” less and less. I found that your sermons and your lessons could really help me.  Today, I could really use one of your sermons.  Sundays weren't the same after you retired.  Now, with you gone, no day will be the same.  I hope and pray you know how grateful I and so many others are to you.

When Fr. Michael Donovan delievered a homily, I wanted to take notes. A brilliant man. I had the honor of doing parish work with Fr. Mike many years ago when he was assistant pastor of St. Cletus Church, Warren

You will be missed very much.....Janet Kudla

Father Mike will be missed......thank you for baptizing my three children.  You will remain forever in our hearts...The Parus Family

Father Mike was my friend and mentor.  I will miss his smiles, kind words and his endless knowledge.  I was truly blessed to have know him.  May he rest in peace.

Father Mike will be truly missed. R.I.P Father Mike and God Bless you always! 

Love, Judie & Paul xo

Father Mike was more than my priest, he was a friend whom I greatly admired. It was because of him that I converted to Catholicism. He will be dearly missed.

A brilliant mind; a caring person; a good priest.  May he rest in peace.

I can't begin to express the sadness I feel after learning of Father Mike's passing.  He helped me and my family through our darkest days when my dad was ill.  He sat with us, prayed with us and comforted us. He was a special man, with many talents and I will miss him more than words can say.  Rest in peace Father Mike.

Father mike will be missed by many. I will always remember the last time I saw him, he was a listening ear I needed.

OBITUARY

Father Michael Donovan

11 November, 1936 – 6 February, 2013

Kaul Funeral Home

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