Helen Rend Donahue

April 19, 1926 to June 13, 2015

Helen “Lonnie” Rend Donahue was born on April 19, 1926 in San Diego, CA, the daughter of Commodore Charles J. and Helen (Deamer) Rend. As a U.S. Navy family, they traveled widely during Helen’s childhood, and were stationed in Hawaii, Brazil, San Diego, Bremerton, WA and Washington, DC. After WWII, the family resided in Washington, D.C., where Helen met and married then Lieutenant Thomas G. Donahue. Together, Helen and Thomas traveled the world with the U.S. Navy, with postings in Indonesia; Casablanca, Morocco; and Beirut, Lebanon. Helen and Thomas raised eight children in Arlington, VA and later Annandale, VA. In 1973, Helen returned to school to earn her college degree, and graduated from George Mason University in 1976 with a major in history. After graduating, Helen worked at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale for many years, retiring in 1988. She and Tom continued to travel extensively in their retirement years, with trips to France, Russia, South Africa, China, and Canada, as well as throughout the U.S. to visit their eight children. Thomas passed away in 2006. Helen is survived by her brother Charles A. Rend and his wife Jean of Williamsburg, VA, and her eight children: Kathleen of Washington, DC; Peter of Seattle, WA; Stephen and his wife Anne Roberts of Charlottesville, VA; Ann and her husband Phil Marx of Charlottesville, VA Michael and his wife Cathie of San Jose, CA; Christopher and his wife Sandy Dantzer of Cascade, CO; Timothy of Breckenridge, CO; and Brian and his wife Amy of Milford, MA. She is also survived by nine grandchildren: Kathleen Donahue; John, Joan, Katerina, and William Donahue; Allison, Molly and Emma Marx; and Kelly Van Dilla. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association.