Cornelius "Neal" Donovan

Cornelius (Neal) L Donovan, 90, formerly of rural Bernard died Saturday July 20, 2019, at Shady Rest Care Center, Cascade, Iowa.

Funeral mass will be at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, July 27, 2019, at St. Patrick's Garryowen, Bernard, Iowa with Fr. Douglas Loecke officiating. Burial will follow at the church cemetery. 

Family and friends may call from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, July 26th, at Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory, 2595 Rockdale Rd where there will be a prayer service beginning at 2:00pm. 

Neal was born in Jackson County, Iowa to Richard and LuLu "Blanche" (Johnson) Donovan on February 18, 1929. Neal attended school in a one-room schoolhouse in Jackson County. 

Neal married Ellen Dunne of Andrew, Iowa, at St. John's Catholic Church in Andrew on November 18, 1950. After several moves, they purchased and occupied the original homesteaded Donovan family farm where they raised their nine children, farmed and resided for over 50 years.

He is survived by his nine children: Richard (Mary Lou), of Bernard, Tom, of Zwingle, Connie, of Cedar Rapids, Pat (Marty) Ryan of Waterloo, Nora (Lee) of Ft. Worth, TX, Jim (Linda), of Austin, TX, Chris (Glen) Ehlinger, of Marion, Kathy (Chris) Frerichs, of Cedar Rapids and Susan of Chicago, IL. He is also survived by thirteen grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren. 

Neal is also survived by one sister, Lois Houselog of Dubuque and a brother Frank Donovan of Santa Rosa, CA, brother-in law Bill (Mary Jean) Dunne of formerly of Bernard, sister's-in-laws Jean Dunne of Bellevue and Donna (Maury) Sturm of Dubuque in addition to many nieces and nephews.

Preceding him in death was his wife Ellen in 2013, Sister Donna Brenke, Brother Gerald (Buzzy) and his wife Joan, and brother-in-law Joe Dunne. 

While Neal would describe himself first as a farmer, he was an accomplished auctioneer and real estate agent involving agriculture. The stories he would weave will forever be etched in many family and area residents' minds. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Neal Donovan memorial fund. The family would like to extend their appreciation to Riverbend Retirement Community, Shady Rest Care Center and Dubuque County Hospice for their care and kindness.

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