Nancy L. Donahue

Nancy Lynn Kurth Donahue died on January 10, 2022, in her home in Madison, Wisconsin at age 69 after almost nine years of interstitial lung disease. Nancy was born September 23, 1952, in Kankakee, Illinois to Lyle Ernst Kurth and Edyth Schnetzler Kurth as the youngest of five children. Nancy married (Robert) Paul Donahue on February 18, 1982, in Champaign, Illinois while she completed her undergraduate degree in educational psychology at the University of Illinois. Nancy earned a master's degree in Education from The University of Wisconsin LaCrosse in May 2005. She later studied in the PhD program at the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Education C&I.

Nancy was in the care of her husband Paul while enrolled as a patient with Agrace Home Hospice for about the final three years of her life. Nancy was intelligent, determined, and passionate. Nancy was sensitive, a deep thinker, as well as highly intuitive and understood people at their core. Nancy especially loved children and was a strong advocate for those with learning challenges. Her pal Joe, a rescue cat, was by her all the time until he succumbed to disease in the summer of 2021. Nancy created a preschool in her home when her two sons were little, then later went on to teach in Preschools, and eventually became Director of a school for kids with learning disabilities. Nancy was a mixed media artist and showed in art fairs and her local public library. Nancy enjoyed watching movies (Fargo was a favorite), listening to music, and meditating. She often listened to Enya, Philip Glass, and Erik Satie.


Nancy is survived by her loving and grateful husband (Robert) Paul Donahue, sons Bradley Paul Donahue (Cora) and granddaughter Violet and Mark Benjamin Donahue (Lauren) and grandson Liam. Her brother Richard Kurth lives in Whitefish, MT with wife Marti. Nancy dearly loved her grandchildren and will miss the arrival of two more this spring.
One of the hardest aspects of her disease was not being able to care for and play with her grandbabies on the floor.

Nancy will be sorely missed by those who knew her. Many people have said that Nancy changed their life.

The family wishes to thank Agrace Home Hospice for their dedication to patient care and comfort and for staying with the family for a very long time. The staff at Agrace allowed Nancy to be her own boss and self-directing, as this was important to her. Anna's Compassionate Care provided in-home care in the final few months of Nancy's life.
Contributions may be made in Nancy's honor to the Madison Cat Project, a private, 501(c)3 organization of people who save cats.

Fly Nancy, fly!


Informed Choice Funeral
& Cremation Alternatives
3325 E. Washington Ave. Madison
(608) 249-6758