Kevin Lawrence Donahue

April 20, 1953 – November 16, 2025

Kevin L. Donahue, son of Francis and Beatrice Donahue, was born in Hartford, CT on April 20, 1953. He grew up during the 1960s in the village of Tariffville, where he and his friends explored the wilds of old farmlands, roamed freely through forgotten game trails, and navigated cherished childhood adventures on the banks of the Farmington River.

In 1968 his family moved to Simsbury, CT where Kevin attended Simsbury High School. He graduated from the University of Hartford with a BA, where he obtained a skill set that facilitated a long and successful career in insurance underwriting (first with Industrial Risk Insurers, then with General Reinsurance) before he retired.

Kevin was a gifted visual artist and woodworker who took great pleasure in creating, whether it was designing and building cabinets, kayaks, or teaching himself electrical work. All of these activities were accompanied by music that spanned jazz, hard rock, and classic pop (from Zydeco to Van Morrison to Stan Getz to Ella Fitzgerald) and set against a man-cave garage backdrop that featured coffee breaks, jokes, and his faithful dog. He was an avid catch-and-release fisherman, prodigious traveler, and possessed of an effortless Irish wit that set all who knew him at ease while in his company.

Settling in Central Florida in 2010, Kevin flourished in the sunshine and mild winters of Greater Orlando. A particular favorite retreat was the shores of Pinellas County on the Gulf of Mexico at St. Petersburg Beach. His years in Florida were filled with building projects, cultural events, classes in tech communications. Kevin was a life-long supporter of the rights of women and believed in the equality of freedom for every human being.

He is beloved by his surviving wife, Minda Stephens (Donahue), of Winter Park, Florida, a host of supportive friends, former insurance colleagues, and his dog, Otis. He leaves a brother, Edward Donahue (Cheryl Della Pelle) and a sister Deborah Donahue Carey, both of CT, and three children from a previous marriage (Conner, Ryan, and Kelsey).

A private celebration of Kevin L. Donahue’s multi-faceted life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations should be made at the giver’s discretion to a human rights organization, animal shelter, or personal charity.