Charles Donovan "Donnie" Sprague

Donnie grew up on the North Side of San Antonio in the Colonial Hills neighborhood along with his younger sister, Sandra Carol, where he made trouble of one kind or another until he graduated from Churchill High in 1972. He attended Texas A&M, studying wildlife sciences as well as building construction and played for the A&M rugby team. Donnie ultimately earned a Bachelor of Science in Building Construction, graduating in 1976. But College Station wasn’t done with Donnie. He spent the next two years working as a framing contractor before being introduced to Mary Beth Fuqua by some mutual friends. On their first date in January of 78’ they went dancing. Later that August while Beth was back home in Dallas between semesters, Donnie drove his Kawasaki 900 up to visit. He earned himself a $200 speeding ticket on the way up, so you know he must have had something on his mind. Donnie and Beth took a spin on the bike around White Rock Lake. In the middle of the ride, with Beth’s arms wrapped around him, Donnie turned back and asked, “What would you think about marrying me?” He must have had to shout the question at her through his helmet to be heard over the sound of the Kawasaki’s engine. Beth squeezed him hard, and they were wed later that year at Garland Road Church of Christ in Dallas on December the 23rd, 1978.

The newlyweds moved to Austin for a stint and then Dallas before finally returning to the heart of Aggieland. A few years later Donnie drove Beth out to a long stretch of winding caliche gravel Southwest of town where he pulled their Chevy pickup off the road onto a lot for sale off Timberline Drive. Beth refused to get out of the truck, knowing they couldn’t afford the patch of land, but Donnie had to explore. He found a tree that had grown in the shape of an ‘S’ and took it as a sign. Out there, with the help of friends like Dave Abernathy and Mike Elmore, Donnie built a home and dug a stock pond. The home, where Beth continues to reside, was completed in 84’. Their first son, Zachary Wayne Sprague, was born the following year. He was followed by Gable Donovan Sprague in 88’ and Spencer Long Sprague in 89’. Donnie and Beth raised the three boys with an immensity of love, joy, and support that was extended and shared with anyone and everyone who visited them out at their home for a meal, to cast a line into the pond, to laugh and share stories, or just crack a few beers.

Donnie was an accomplished contractor, working in framing, concrete, and custom home building over the course of his career. His reputation as a builder, a man, and a father preceded him. His laugh is legendary, and anyone who ever heard it never forgot the sound. Big. Cacophonous. Filled with life. Donnie loved his wife, Beth, openly and passionately until his final day on Earth. His last years were filled with the gifts of grandchildren, friendship, and DIY home projects that at times seemed hairbrained, but always turned out to enrich the lives of those around him. Donnie was ‘Pop’ to many, and any young man or woman who came under his roof was treated as if they were his own. He could be cantankerous, calamitous, rowdy, and sometimes stubborn, but Donnie had a deep tenderness and love in him that overflowed in the presence of animals, particularly wildlife. In his later years he couldn’t damn that softness up, and it came pouring out of him on phone calls with his sons, quiet moments with his wife, nights on the couch with Lucas, their dog, in interactions with any and every family member and friend who crossed his path.

Donnie always showed up. He was always there. And he was bursting at the seams with a love for a life that he lived his own way. We’re all just lucky that he decided to live it so often for us.

A Celebration of Live will be held at 1:00 pm on October 13, 2026, at Memorial Funeral Chapel in College Station, 2901 Texas Avenue South.