Ernestine Donahue
M. Ernestine "Teen" Donahue, 87, died May 15, 2002, at Herington Municipal Hospital.
Born Sept. 27, 1914, on a farm near Grenola, she was the daughter of M.C. and Mary L. (Stiles) Yancey.
Funeral services were held Saturday at Herington United Methodist Church with the Rev. Edward Thompson officiating. Burial was in Sunset Hill Cemetery.
Eastern Star services were given by Esther Chapter #96, Order of the Eastern Star, Herington.
She was a licensed master funeral director and worked as a legal secretary for the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate in Fort Riley. She was a member of the United Methodist Church and UMW, American Legion Auxiliary, VFW Auxiliary, Daughters of the American Revolution, hospital auxiliary, NARFE, and AARP. She also was a member of Esther Chapter #96, Order of the Eastern Star and served as past worthy matron and pianist for the chapter.
Mrs. Donahue loved music and wrote and composed "The Kansas Waltz." She enjoyed traveling and dancing and taught senior citizens to dance. She was a volunteer for more than 30 years to "Reach for Recovery" in the Herington and tri-county area.
She was a 1933 graduate of Herington High School and member of National Honor Society. She attended Kansas State University for a year, where she studied pre-medicine. She received an associate's degree from Cloud County Community College, Concordia.
She was Miss Herington's Beauty Queen in 1935, and went to the Miss Kansas Pageant where she was a finalist.
In 1987 she was named Senior Citizen of the Year by Herington Chamber of Commerce.
She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, two sisters, and a grandson.
Survivors include her daughter, Mary Ann Brown; two sons, Vance and his wife, Karen Donahue and W.E. "Bill" Donahue, all of Herington; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
A memorial fund has been established with the United Methodist Church music fund.
