Loretta Frances Donegan

Loretta was born and raised in New Brunswick, NJ. She was baptized in and attended St. Peter’s Church, St. Peter’s Elementary School, and St. Peter’s High School. While attending Newark State College (now Kean University), she worked summer jobs at E.J. Korvette’s in North Brunswick. It was there that she met her husband Bill during a blackout that extended over most of NJ and other portions of the northeast. They got married at St. Peter’s Church on June 20, 1970, which was soon after her graduation from Newark State, while Bill was in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Huachuca, AZ.

Their honeymoon was driving across the country from New Jersey to Arizona. While in Arizona, they made numerous trips around the state, including 2 visits to her favorite site - the Grand Canyon, which she liked to refer to as the “Canyon Grand”.

After Bill’s discharge from the Army, they made another cross country road trip back east, settling in the Village of Wappingers Falls, NY. It was while living there that she gave birth to her 2 children, Michelle and Jim. They later moved to Saugerties, NY, where she oversaw their children’s physical, academic, social, and spiritual growth.

Just as the children were reaching adulthood, Bill’s job change brought them to Burlington, VT, where she became a fan of the Vermont Lake Monsters and the Boston Red Sox. She also enjoyed many of the cultural events in the area, as well as sight-seeing trips around Vermont and Montréal, Québec. As the children left the nest, she had the opportunity to visit other cities, especially Boston and Washington.

In 2011, uterine cancer created a bump in the road for her. But thanks to the work of Dr. Cheung Wong and his team at the University of Vermont Medical Center, that cancer went away and never came back. It did leave her with lymphedema, which slowed her down a bit.

In July of 2022, she was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a very aggressive type of brain cancer with an average life expectancy of 18 months. She received treatment at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, VT.

In December 2023, she and her husband Bill relocated to Owings Mills, MD, just outside of Baltimore, to be closer to her daughter, who had moved there over twenty years prior and was now settled there with her husband and children. Upon arrival in Maryland, she continued treatment at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

In April 2025, she had a fall, which caused her to be hospitalized. It was also discovered during her hospitalization that her tumor had continued to grow and spread. After it was determined that no other treatment options were available, she returned home to receive hospice care there. Finally, on June 17, 2025, she departed peacefully from this life, accompanied by her loving husband and two children.

The family wants to thank Dr. Cheung Wong and his team at University of Vermont Medical Center, Dr. Oluwatosin Akintola and her team at University of Vermont Medical Center, Dr. Matthias Holdhoff and his team at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the people at Gilchrist Hospice Care for their care.

Loretta is survived by her loving husband Bill, their 2 children Michelle Donegan (William Maciejewski) of Ellicott City and Br. James Donegan, OFM Cap. of New York, and 2 grandchildren Lucas and Claire Maciejewski.

A visitation for Loretta will be held Monday, June 23, 2025 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Sterling Ashton Schwab Witzke Funeral Home of Catonsville, Inc., 1630 Edmondson Ave, Catonsville, MD 21228; with a Wake Service at 7PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will occur Tuesday, June 24, 2025 at 11:00 AM at St Gabriel Catholic Church, 6950 Dogwood Rd, Milford Mill, MD 21244. Interment in New Cathedral Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Loretta's memory may be made to University of Vermont Cancer Center, St. Joseph's Hall, 5th Floor, 1 South Prospect St, Burlington, Vermont 05401 and Johns Hopkins University and Medicine , Attn: Kimmel Cancer Center, P.O. Box 49143, Baltimore, Maryland 21297.