Edward William Donovan

Edward William Donovan, of Hull, MA passed away peacefully on May 20th 2026  at the age of 76, surrounded by his immediate family. He was a cat lover,  a rollercoaster aficionado, an accomplished cook/baker, avid traveler,  and unbeatable in Trivial Pursuit.

Edward was born in Cambridge, MA on June 7th, 1949 to Patricia and Edward Donovan. He grew up in the seaside town of Scituate, MA, graduating from Scituate High School in 1967. The subsequent Fall, he headed to Beloit College, to study Spanish language and literature, a 1st in his family. He did a “study abroad” year in Madrid, Spain where despite his many Spanish classes and academic accolades …”I was unable to order a Coke”. Undeterred he carried on, mastering the language and taking a liking to Spain, it’s people and culture.  A year of post-graduate at the U. of MN followed graduation from Beloit.

Facing a weak US economy and job-market, he placed his belongings in storage and set off for Madrid where he landed a teaching position at a private school which supported his travels to the neighboring European and other countries. In 1979, he headed 400 mi. west to Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast and opened an American cuisine restaurant called the “Yankee Sandwich”. He operated and managed the restaurant for the next 21+ years. In 2001,in need of a change, he returned to the US, and was hired to teach Spanish at the Gates Middle School in his hometown of Scituate, MA. Eventually he purchased a home in nearby Hull, MA, not far from his 1st and addicting roller coaster ride on the Giant Coaster at Paragon Park. When not teaching, he traveled about visiting surviving, operating “Golden Era” roller coasters. In addition, he was a certified translator and interpreter serving the Medical and Legal communities. He retired from teaching in 2017, enjoying the slower pace and beautiful surrounding communities.

Edward is preceded in death by his parents, Edward William Donovan and Patricia A. (Shea) Andrew, his sister Mary (Donovan) Steiner and niece Hope Alexis Steiner. He leaves behind seven siblings; Ellen Andrew-Kasper (Stephen), Geoff Andrew (Nancy), Richard "Jody" Andrew (Kim), Linda Andrew, Fred Andrew (Diane), John Andrew (Joanne), Chris Andrew (Olga), brother-in-law Patrick Steiner, many nieces, nephews, (Camille Snodgrass, Dawn Steiner, Andrea Steiner, Kayla Steiner, Kyra Steiner, Heidi Steiner, Skyler Steiner, Christopher Kasper, Sean Andrew, Brendan Andrew, Jonathan Andrew, Marissa Garvey, Shannon Tobin, Kelly Tobin, William Keeley, Scott Keeley, Matt Keeley, Tristan Andrew, Sophia Andrew, Nadia Andrew, Ivan Andrew, Nikita Andrew,) grandnieces, grandnephews, AND his faithful cat Roxy.

Arrangements and an announcement for a celebration of Edwards Life are pending, to be announced at a later date. In lieu of cards/flowers, please send a donation to Hull Seaside Animal Rescue (HSAR) at: https://www.hsar.org/donate