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Submitted & © by Kay Marshall

Obit for Helen posted by Janet Laubhan Flickinger

http://www.havenbrookfuneralhome.com/

Helen Patricia (Toothaker) Donahue passed away on December 24, 2011 in Lawton.  She was 89 years old. 

Mrs. Donahue was born on September 6, 1922 in Alamo, Texas to Henry Tull and Minnie Elizabeth (Scott) Toothaker.  Raised on her family’s citrus farm in the Rio Grande Valley of far South Texas, she graduated from Pharr–SanJuan–Alamo High School in 1940.  World War II brought her to the San Antonio (Texas) Aviation Cadet Center, where she worked as the head of the Cadet Center’s property section and was featured on the cover of the Army Air Forces’ official wartime newspaper.

She also captured the attention of Dr. Hayden H. Donahue, a young psychiatrist and Army Air Forces major stationed in San Antonio at the end of the war.  They were married on February 22, 1947 in Alamo, Texas and remained together for 55 years, until Dr. Donahue’s death on November 1, 2002.  In 1952 Dr. and Mrs. Donahue moved to Oklahoma following the appointment of Dr. Donahue (an Oklahoma native) as director of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health.  A nationally renowned pioneer in the care and treatment of the mentally ill, Dr. Donahue served in various key positions in Oklahoma’s mental-health system until his retirement in 1991.  In 1961 the Donahue family, which by then had grown to include three daughters, moved to Norman.  Norman would remain home to Dr. and Mrs. Donahue for the next several decades, where they were also longtime active members of McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church.  After raising the three Donahue daughters, Mrs. Donahue embarked on a second career in the field of psychiatric social work, obtaining her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1977 and her Master of Social Work degree the following year.  As a licensed social worker with a specialty in clinical social work, Mrs. Donahue served with the Central Oklahoma Community Mental Health Center in Norman from 1979 until her retirement in 1991.  She also taught as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma School of Social Work.  Mrs. Donahue was actively involved in numerous professional and civic organizations. Mrs. Donahue served as president of the Cleveland County Aging Services Advisory Council, the Cleveland County Medical Auxiliary, and the Reviewer’s Club of Norman.  She was a past treasurer of the Oklahoma Society for Clinical Social Workers and was a member of the National Association of Social Work, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and the Cleveland County Mental Health Association.  She was also a sustaining member of the Junior League of Norman. In 1983 Mrs. Donahue traveled as a delegate to the VII World Congress of Mental Health in Vienna, Austria.  She was also particularly proud of her inclusion in Who’s Who of American Women.  Throughout her many endeavors, Mrs. Donahue embodied grace, intelligence, warmth, and compassion.  Whether hosting a dinner party or counseling the mentally ill, she had a unique ability to put people at ease, making them feel respected and valued in every setting.  She loved traveling (especially to Santa Fe, New Mexico and surrounding pueblos), gardening, bird watching, photography, collecting Native American artwork and pottery, and spending time with her grandchildren. 

Mrs. Donahue was preceded in death by her husband and her parents; her brother, Scott Toothaker; and a sister, Kathryn Toothaker. 

She is survived by her three daughters: Erin Mathews of Dallas, Texas; Kerry Sweeney and husband Dr. Robert F. Sweeney of Lawton; and Patty Crocker and husband Reggie Crocker of Tulsa.  She is also survived by her grandchildren Travis Mathews, Alanna O’Keefe and husband Kevin, Cullen Sweeney, Sean Sweeney,Paul Crocker, Chloe Crocker, and Katy Crocker; sister Lucile McKeever and husband Jack of Alamo, Texas; sister Jeannette Hudler of San Antonio, Texas;sister Marian Fitch of McAllen, Texas; sister-in-law Dorothy Toothaker; numerous nieces and nephews; and countless friends and colleagues.

Memorial services will begin at 2:00 pm Thursday, December 29, 2011 at the McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church, 419 South University Boulevard, in Norman.  Arrangements are under the direction of the Havenbrook Funeral Home, Norman. 

Memorial donations may be made in memory of Helen Patricia (Toothaker) Donahue to the University of Oklahoma Foundation, Inc., 100 Timberdell Road, Norman,Oklahoma 73019 for the Hayden H. Donahue, M.D. Fund for Mental Health. 

Mrs. Donahue will be laid to rest with her husband Dr. Hayden H. Donahue in a private ceremony at the I.O.O.F Cemetery in Norman, Oklahoma. 

Online condolences may be shared at www.havenbrookfuneralhome.com