Born 1946

She traveled the world. Had four troublesome boys. This is her story.

Elizabeth Ann Donohue was born in 1946, in a bustling city in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Philip and Paula Donohue were loving parents, and little did Elizabeth know that she would be one of many siblings. She grew up to have four other siblings, Sean, Paul, Molly, and Philip. Her bustling family was constantly moving every two or three years because her father was a Naval officer and admiral of a ship. They needed to pack and be on the go because Philip was always being called to different posts. Elizabeth and her family moved all around the world, to Virginia, Newport, Paris, and New Hampshire! But out of those places, Newport was where her life would be shaped.

Elizabeth went to high school in Paris, and loved the freshman and senior proms that were held at a big restaurant called Champs Elysees. After living in Paris, she went to Newport to attend college. She went to Salve Regina University, where she had the time of her life. She graduated from college and then, she met the love of her life, Jeremiah Richard Leary.

After finishing college Elizabeth and Jeremiah got married, and she loved him dearly. He was a lawyer, and she decided to pursue her childhood dream. She became a teacher, just like her mother, at Portsmouth High School, but it was short-lived. She taught for one year until she retired to her home because every year, she had a baby boy. She eventually had four and stayed at home to take care of her sons. Her four boys, Richard, Mathew, John, and Jeremiah were troublemakers, but were the biggest influence on her life. She loved them dearly, and watching them grow up made her very proud.

Today, she lives in Little Compton, and is grateful for her home and her family. Elizabeth has many loving grandchildren, and she looks back on her life with happiness. She did all she wanted to do, traveled a lot, and married someone she loved. She loves to run, four mornings a week, and likes to sew and get together with friends, sometimes at a book club! She works with her husband Jeremiah in the yard and likes to read.

She remembers her past, and her best memory was of marrying her true love, Jeremiah. But she also has bad memories. Her worst one was when she was at Salve. It was her last year and was twenty-one years old. She fell, breaking a bone in her cheek and her arm.

Elizabeth has a ring her mother gave her, and she wears it with love every day. Whenever she looks at it, she thinks of her mother, who was just like her, caring, loving, and kind.

Based on an interview with my grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Donohue, April 2020.

Written by: Marjorie Leary, Grade 5 – Wilbur & McMahon School

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