Richard Paul Donahue

Richard Paul Donahue passed away Sunday, May 24, 2026. He is survived by his daughter, Hannah Marie Donahue of Broken Arrow; his sister, Andrea Fleming of Tulsa; his parents, Paula and David Thompson of Van Buren; his stepmother, Debora Donahue of South Carolina; his stepchildren, Brinley Hutson, Corrina Haynes, Hunter Greif, and Phoebe Thorborg; his uncle and aunt, David and Gail Summerhill of Hokes Bluff, Alabama; his niece, Meredith (Jonathan) Goggins of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; cousins, Nathan (Jessica) Summerhill of Attalla, Alabama and Courtney Summerhill of Biloxi Mississippi; and many friends.

He was preceded in death by wife, Tina Dennis-Donahue; his father, Roger Edward Donahue; and grandparents, Richard Edward Donahue, Tressie (Chisolm Donahue) Brazeal, Paul Fenley, and Marjorie Ellene Summerhill.

Richard was born May 31, 1970 at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Richard lived and worked in many places. He lived in San Antonio for his first 2 years, moved to Little Rock, Arkansas for 2 years then moved to Adona, Turkey and started school at Incirlik Air Force Base. He lived in the Van Buren/Fort Smith area from 1976 until 1981 when he moved with his family making Tulsa his home. He attended Union High School.

He was adventurous. He loved being outdoors biking, camping, skiing in Colorado, surfing and scuba diving in Florida with his father. He made himself a skateboard ramp before it was even popular. He loved to fish and was very good at it. He enjoyed music and playing guitar. He dabbled in song writing.

He worked in landscaping for a few years before his job in industrial insulation working for different companies and in different areas of the country, including North Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, and Illinois, plus various places in Oklahoma before he fell and broke his hip.

He loved his daughter Hannah; she was the light of his life! He had a soft and tender heart and offered a place to stay and a helping hand to many people including every stray cat that came to his doorstep. He loved his cats. He was generous, giving without expecting anything in return. While he lived in Van Buren with his parents, he enjoyed watching the deer and various wildlife that came through. He enjoyed watching the sky, stars and planets at night.

After years struggling with MS and other unfortunate situations, he found peace living with his parents in Van Buren for the last five weeks of his life. We wanted him so much longer, but now he has found ease from all the suffering and eternal peace. We loved him dearly and miss him so much.

Graveside service will be 2:00 p.m. Monday, June 1, 2026 at Gracelawn Cemetery in Van Buren, under the direction of Edwards Van-Alma Funeral Home of Van Buren, AR.