Mary Naylor Donahue

Mary Naylor Donahue passed away peacefully on October 19, 2025, following a courageous battle with kidney and heart disease. She was 85 and a devoted parishioner at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Boca Grande, Florida.

Mary was born on January 11, 1940, in Greenville, South Carolina, to Mary Amelia Metts and Edward Wood Naylor, Jr. She was raised in the small town of Cherryville, NC, and graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Belmont, NC in 1957. Mary then attended Immaculata Junior College in Washington, DC for two years and was elected Student Council President. Mary went on to graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1961, carrying with her a deep love of the institution and instilling that love in her children. While still in high school, Mary met William (Bill) O’Donnell Donahue of Washington, DC at a square dance in Belmont. The couple married in Chapel Hill in 1962, while Bill was in the Army. They returned to Washington where they raised their family. Mary devoted herself to being a loving wife and mother while Bill started and ran his business, Antiques of Georgetown. When the kids were older, Mary helped support the family by working as a legal secretary and volunteered at the Father McKenna Center in Washington.

Mary’s favorite place in the world was Boca Grande. Mary first visited Gasparilla Island in 1994 and was immediately smitten. Upon “discovering” Boca Grande, Mary never considered settling anywhere else. Mary and Bill moved to Boca Grande full-time in 2014, attracting a steady stream of friends and relatives to their home on Tarpon Avenue. Theirs was a warm, welcoming and familiar home, equal parts comfort and quality, and thus perfectly reflected Mary herself, right down to its canine inhabitants; the Donahues were rarely without a friendly Labrador or two. She had a wide circle of friends, many of whom she met volunteering at Boca Bargains, at the dog park, in water aerobics class, or playing mahjong. Those who knew Mary will particularly remember her warmth and kindness, sense of duty, and grace.

Mary was predeceased by her parents as well as two brothers, Edward and William Naylor. In addition to her husband Bill, Mary is survived by three adoring children and their incredibly fortunate spouses (no mother-in-law was ever so beloved): Bill Jr. (Jill), Molly (Jim) and Edward (Aimee). She also leaves behind eight good-as-gold grandchildren (as Mary saw them, anyway!): Jimmy (Michelle), Clare (Jack), Kate, Billy, Johnny, Charlie, Thomas and Lucy, as well as two cherished great-grandchildren, James and Maxima. The Funeral Mass will be October 24th 3:00 pm at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, 240 Park Avenue, Boca Grande, FL. A reception will follow at 4:30 pm at the Our Lady of Mercy Parish Life Center.

In lieu of flowers, please consider honoring Mary with a gift to Englewood Community Care Clinic, 6868 San Casa Drive, Englewood, FL 34224 (Dr. Raymond James’ free clinic), https://www.englewoodclinic.org/donate