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Dorrance Leo Donovan
Dorrance Leo Donovan
Fountain Hills, AZ
Dorrance Leo Donovan, age 94 years, of Fountain Hills, AZ, passed away peacefully on Wednesday 29 October 2025. He was the son of Leo Nicholas and Mary Berniece (Crowley) Donovan. D.L. or “Doc” was born in Monticello, IA on 13 May 1931. He was a graduate of The University of Iowa. Doc married Blanche Marie Thompson in 1953 in Cedar Rapids, IA. He is survived by their only child, Pamela (Kurt) Berens and four grandchildren (Donovan, Pauline, Dylan and Nolan); and Doc’s sisters Patricia Halstead, Elinor Remington, and Elizabeth Dake.
He was preceded in death by his parents and two sisters, Lorena Muller and Mary Jeanne Recker.
Doc and his wife Blanche lived in Minnesota (Golden Valley and Woodbury) and Florida (Mt. Dora) prior to moving to Arizona in 1996. Doc worked as a leading salesman to distributors across the Midwest for Tappan appliances, winning numerous sales awards. Notably he demonstrated personal home use microwaves (new in the ’60s) and was known to say “nothing looks, cooks or sells like a Tappan”.
Doc was an avid Minnesota Vikings fan, even after moving from the state. He could always be counted on for Vikings stats and trivia.
A Catholic rite of funeral mass will be held at 10:00 am on 17 November 2025 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Houston, TX. Interment will occur at the National Cemetery Columbarium in Phoenix, AZ at a later date. A luncheon will be served immediately following the funeral mass at St. Vincent’s. In lieu of flowers the family respectfully requests gifts in memoriam be directed to the St. Vincent DePaul Society.
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