[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 185 (Friday, December 18, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN RECOGNITION OF JULIA MARIE DONOVAN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. WILLIAM R. KEATING

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 18, 2015

  Mr. KEATING. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Julia Marie 
Donovan on the occasion of her ninetieth birthday this month.
   Mrs. Donovan, or June, as she is referred to by her many friends, 
was born on December 30, 1925, the oldest child of the O'Brien family 
of North Cambridge. The daughter of Irish immigrants, June recounts 
that as children she, her two younger siblings, Cornelius and Rita, and 
her parents were a very close knit family. After losing her father at 
the age of thirteen, at the height of the Great Depression, June became 
even more involved with helping her mother. However, her mother 
insisted that she still finish her studies and just as the United 
States was entering the Second World War, June graduated from St. 
Mary's in Cambridge.
   Upon her graduation, June entered the workforce. She began working 
in Boston for the New Haven Railroad. As so many other young women were 
doing at the time, she took over the desk of a young man who had gone 
to war. She remained there for the duration of the war, knowing all the 
while that she would be expected to leave upon the return of the 
American servicemen. After three years, the soldier whose desk she had 
occupied finally did return. Upon their meeting, he immediately asked 
if he could call her. His name was William Donovan, and they were 
married for over sixty years.
   Bill and June raised their sons Francis, William, James, Dennis, and 
Kevin in Hingham, Massachusetts, and their happy home was always open 
to the many friends who dropped by constantly. After moving to Cape 
Cod, they still had visitors often--including their ten grandchildren 
and many nieces and nephews who have continued to enjoy their many 
beach days at Nana and Poppy's. It is surrounded by this large, loving 
family that June will celebrate her birthday at the end of this month.
   Mr. Speaker, I am proud to honor Julia Marie Donovan on this joyous 
occasion. I ask that my colleagues join me in wishing her many more 
years of happiness.

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