Alice Donohue

Tribute to Alice Donohue

My mother was a remarkable woman. especially in the context of her times. She was very bright, ambitious, and intellectually curious, and always a lady. Growing up in Buffalo, she won the Jesse Ketchum Award for academic excellence in grammar school, was Valedictorian of her senior class in high school, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University at Buffalo.

In the summer of 1943, she arrived in Washington as an Intern with the Bureau of the Budget. It was hot. There was no air conditioning. Housing was in short supply. When she was offered a permanent position with the Department of Navy’s Civilian Personnel Office at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, she grabbed it. While today this does not sound very remarkable, consider the time. Most women graduating college in the 40’s went on to careers as teachers and nurses, few competed with men for better paying jobs and even fewer were willing to leave the comfort and familiarity of their hometown to pursue their dreams. While she had the love and support of her parents, it must have been daunting to leave her family and move to unfamiliar places in pursuit of her goals.

She returned to Washington in the 1972 as the Director of Navy’s Senior Executive Program, following several years in Boston as the Deputy Director of the Regional Office of Civilian Manpower Management. In these and other positions throughout her career, she was the first women to hold them. serving as a model for many women who followed her.

I always respected and admired her, and I am proud of her many achievements. She has been role model for me throughout my career. She shared with me her love of travel, literature, and the arts. She was a fine cook and exposed me to fine food. She enriched my life in many ways.

The one goal she did not achieve was to live to 100. although she came pretty close – 98 ½. As her life closed in on her, it was difficult to observe her inability to do those things that gave her such pleasure. As Titi, her wonderful care giver, said to me the week before she died, “I think your mother has given up." Words that I never expected to be applied to her.

She married Rear Admiral Timothy Donohue in 1953 following his retirement from the Navy. He was smitten with her on their first meeting, and they were happily married until his death in 1987. He was always supportive of her career goals and was her biggest cheer leader. As she moved through the various stages of her later life, she gradually let go of all the visible possessions that seemed to define her, save one. She always kept my stepfather’s portrait in a place where she could easily see it. It was probably the last thing she saw before going to sleep the night that she died. I hope that seeing it gave her comfort and that she is at peace and once again reunited with the love of her life.

In making my gift to the Honors College in celebration of my mother, I wanted to honor the extraordinary woman she was – a caring mother, accomplished professional, and inspiring role model. She led by example, living a life that reflected the power of pursuing one’s goals with passion and embracing new experiences with courage. Just as importantly, she created opportunities for others to do the same. It’s my hope that the recipients of this gift will be inspired by those same ideals and carry them forward throughout their own lives.

Alyce Bassoff, proud daughter of Alice Chmiel Donohue