Sophie (Chubata) Donahue

Sophie Donahue (nee Chubata), age 86, of Wilmington, DE passed away at home on Tuesday, March 13, 2018.  Sophie was born on January 6, 1932 in the Ukraine under difficult circumstances.  Famine, orphaned, and displaced by the war, her strong will to survive and the kindness of others brought her to the United States in 1948 on a scholarship to St Basil’s Academy, a Catholic Ukrainian high school. 

Sophie was fortunate to receive a scholarship to St. Francis Hospital School of Nursing.  She graduated in 1953 and worked there in maternity & med-surg nursing until she retired.  She met and married her husband, Joseph F. Donahue at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Wilmington.  They remained lifelong parishioners.  Her husband Joseph predeceased her in 2014.

Sophie had a green thumb and adored her backyard, where she cultivated her husband’s Italian fig trees.  She was an excellent cook and expert quilter.  She stayed sweet by eating ice cream and chocolate every day. 

A loving wife, mother, and grandmother she will be missed by her children, Karen of New Castle, DE, Michael P. (Terry) of Roanoke, IN, Catherine Donahue Smith (Jeffrey) of Middletown, DE, Patrick M. (Sandra) of Houston, TX,  and Joseph J. (Adrienne) of Atlanta GA.  She is survived by 5 grandchildren, Julie, Michael, Sean, Haley and Dianna.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at the Cathedral of St. Peter, 6th and West Streets, Wilmington on Saturday, March 17 at 9:30AM.  Burial will follow at All Saints Cemetery.  

The family thanks Vitas Hospice for their care and support.  A most special thanks is extended to her son-in-law and caregiver Jeffrey Smith. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sophie’s memory to St Basil Academy, c/o the Development Department.  711 Fox Chase Road, Jenkintown, PA, 19046.

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