Long Beach remembers Father Donohoe

More than a thousand people turned out to say goodbye to Fr. Thomas E. Donohoe last week, a longtime pastor at St. Mary of the Isle Church in Long Beach, who died in Amityville on April 18 at age 75.

“He touched so many people’s hearts,” said Sister Fran Monuszko, a Dominican sister who worked closely with Donohoe during his 27 years at St. Mary’s. “It’s definitely a big loss, not just for our church, but for Long Beach, Lido Beach and Point Lookout — I can’t even walk down the street or go to Waldbaum’s without someone grabbing me or crying.”

Donohoe was born in West Hempstead, the only child of parents Thomas and Frances. He attended George Washington Public School, Cathedral Prep and went on to the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington. He was ordained a priest in 1962 and served as a parish priest at St. John Nepomucene in Bohemia for four years. He later served as a chaplain at Meadowbrook Hospital, now Nassau University Medical Center, and was an associate pastor at St. Elizabeth’s parish in Melville/Dix Hills for eight years.

Donohoe came to St. Mary’s in 1980, where he became known for reaching out to the community and bringing together members of the multi-ethnic parish.

“He integrated and brought all these people together to pray, to share and to have a good time together — we became one family,” Monuszko said. “At that time the communities were different — they came to the same church but they were not one fellowship. He held different prayer services in different languages and brought people together.”

Donohoe co-founded the Long Beach Interfaith Committee and was honored as the organization’s Man of the Year in 2006. He was also a chaplain for the Long Beach and Point Lookout-Lido Fire Departments and the Long Beach Auxiliary Police.

Monuszko said Donohoe was proud of his mission school, St. Vincent de Paul that he had built in Haiti. He was also known to visit local residents, and would stop in to say hello to members of the monthly Needlework Prayer Group.

“He also became an associate member of the Dominican community in Amityville,” Monuszko said. “He came to our convents to pray with us.”