Florence G. Donohue

Florence Donohue, a long-time resident of Catonsville, died on Friday, November 4, 2016, at the age of 96. She lived on Summit Ave from 1960 until 2011. She grew up in West Baltimore and was the fourth of nine children. She attended Western High School. During WWII, she worked at Rustless Iron and Steel in Baltimore. Originally hired as a secretary, she struggled as a typist on her first day on the job so she asked to be transferred to a position where she could use her math skills. Her bosses at Rustless switched her to a position where she excelled at calculating the number of ingots that were required to make the various components for war-time machinery. While at Rustless she also displayed an amazing talent for archery - winning many competitions in the company’s archery leagues. When the war was over in 1945 she married James J. (Joe) Donohue and they had seven children.

As the family grew, The Donohues moved to various locations in Baltimore before eventually settling in Catonsville. Mrs. Donohue loved a challenge. The Catonsville Times once had a contest called “Know Catonsville?” where readers had to identify a landmark home or business in Catonsville based on a photo of a very small part of the building. She won the contest quite a few times. She also sold real estate and tutored elementary school kids in Math and Reading. She enjoyed going to yard sales and vacationing in Ocean City.

Mrs. Donohue was a community activist as well and spearheaded the address change of a nursing home so that large tractor trailers would no longer get lost on their first delivery and end up being forced to navigate narrow neighborhood streets while trying to access a delivery area that was nearly impossible to find on the first attempt. Once the address was changed to the more truck-accessible Frederick Road the problem was eliminated and the neighborhood streets were safe again.

Mrs. Donohue participated in a longitudinal study at Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and has donated her brain for science to help many families suffering because of the disease.

Mrs. Donohue is survived by her seven children, Patricia Schaum and husband, Ronald, Kathlyn Miller and husband, Dennis, Ann Marie Vieth and husband, Richard, Susan Marks, Thomas Donohue, James Donohue and wife, Catherine, and Michael Donohue and wife, Angela; She is also survived by two sisters, Norma Martin and Mollie Groszer, and one brother, Robert Groszer. She is also survived by 10 grandchildren and 11 great- grandchildren. In addition to her husband she was predeceased by her father, Andrew Groszer, Sr. and mother Christina Marie (nee Schuman) Groszer and siblings Madeline Frazier, Christina Cameron, Marie Riggins, Thelma Snow, and Andrew Groszer.

Family will receive friends at Sterling Ashton Schwab Witzke Funeral Home of Catonsville, Inc., 1630 Edmondson Ave., Catonsville, MD 21228 on Thursday, November 10, from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, November 11, 10am, St. Mark's Catholic Church, 30 Melvin Ave., Catonsville, MD 21228. Interment Garrison Forest Veterans Cemetery will be held at a later date.

Memorial Contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org.