Cynthia Courtney Donahue

Cynthia Courtney Donahue, 86, quietly passed away in Stuart, Florida, on December 9, 2022.

Born on August 19, 1936, to Arthur and Nancy Courtney in Aiken, South Carolina, Cynthia lived a rich and intellectual life. As a young girl, she learned about and loved all creatures great and small while living on a farm. Her interest in animals and ecology led Cynthia to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she spent two years completing her undergraduate classes. She transferred to Florida State University in her junior year and matriculated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. Shortly after graduation, she married Meredith Jones, a marine biologist, and moved to New York City where he had secured a position at the Museum of Natural History. Cynthia found a position at Albert Einstein University as a microbiologist and microscopist where she learned how to operate and analyze living things using an electron microscope.

After having her first daughter in New York, the family moved to Maryland where Cynthia would raise two daughters as her husband had taken a job at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. During this time, she became a successful real estate agent and started to collect kaleidoscopes, mid-century furniture, and fine art-even serving as a docent at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

While bringing up her children, the family returned many summers to Edisto Island, South Carolina, beachcombing in the morning and reading and sunning throughout the day. Christmas celebrations would alternate each year between Maryland and Aiken with her parents, sister, and her beloved nieces and nephew. Both locations remained geographic constants throughout her life and opened her children to new cultures, experiences and people they value to this day.

With her children grown, Cynthia embarked on new life adventures with Joseph Donahue. Joe was a dynamic ex-Viet Nam helicopter pilot and entrepreneur who had a zest for life, boating, and Cynthia. Together, they moved to Annapolis, Maryland, and made a home on the Severn River. She became Joe’s First Mate as they boated on the Chesapeake Bay and cruised the east coast with family and friends. As they retired from their jobs, they became snowbirds, traveling between residences in Maryland, eventually a 28-acre home in Rockland, Maine overlooking Penobscot Bay, and to Stuart, Florida during the winter.

She lived her life quietly, yet to the fullest, with love and compassion for all and was always involved in various charity organizations. Among them were the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Federation, donations of clothing and household items to local organizations. Most importantly, Cynthia’s affinity for book reading moved her to teach reading to underserved adults. Cynthia was a wonderful mother, a loving wife, and a loyal friend. Cynthia was predeceased by her sister, Nancy Anne Collins, and her husband, Joe Donahue. She is survived by her daughters, Glynnis Jones Schoffstall (James), Evelyn Jones, her stepchildren, Mark Donahue, and Laurie Donahue Fulton (Mark), and two grandsons Tripp and Danny Fulton.

A funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM Thursday, December 15th, 2022, in the Shellhouse Funeral Home chapel, followed by burial in Bethany Cemetery. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Cynthia Courtney Donahue’s name may be made to the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Federation, or ASPCA.

SHELLHOUSE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 924 HAYNE AVE., AIKEN, SC