I was born in Boston to Beatrice and Jeremiah Donovan and grew up in Natick, Massachusetts.  My father was a Veteran of WWI and worked on the Boston and Albany Railroad. My mother was a Registered Nurse, a graduate of Tewksbury Hospital School of Nursing. She operated a nursing home in the Framingham, MA area.  I was the middle of three children, an older brother Jerry and a sister Nancy.  During my senior year of high school my parents bought the Ellinwood Farm in West Deering, NH. This was in 1953 when the population of Deering was approximately 300 people.

I went on to college while my family moved to New Hampshire.  Jerry joined the Navy and Nancy finished her last two years of high school at Hillsborough-Deering High School.  I joined the New Hampshire National Guard while completing my studies and graduating from the University of New Hampshire.  I then went on to receive a JD Degree from Suffolk Law School.

Following my mother’s footsteps, I dedicated my entire working career to health care.  First operating nursing homes specializing in geriatric care and then operating and developing new facilities throughout New England.  Medical expertise acquired as a result of the Vietnam War led to more people surviving spinal and brain injury trauma.  In the mid-seventies, I observed a growing need for specialized transitional rehabilitation and long term care units to treat young adult survivors of these types of catastrophic injuries.

Along with my wife Joanne and other dedicated professionals, we developed community based transitional rehabilitation and long term supported living facilities across the country for young adult survivors of brain and spinal cord injury.  Our facilities treated in excess of 5,000 clients.  I retired from that company in the late 90’s but continue to be dedicated to healthcare and community based treatment of young adults.  My wife and I own and operate Rose Meadow Farm and Rose Meadow Garden, two facilities located in New Boston, NH specializing in assisted living for people with bran and spinal cord injury.

During my career in healthcare I was always interested in my own community of Deering, NH and our family continues to live on the original homestead in West Deering.  I have four grown children and two grandchildren.  I was pleased to be a Volunteer Firefighter and EMT for the town and like my brother Jerry before me, I served as Selectman in the town for 6 years.