- Date Of Birth: April 24, 1951
- Date Of Death: April 21, 2015
- State: Illinois
Melvin E. Donovan, 63, of Prentice, IL died Tuesday evening, April 21, 2015 at Passavant Area Hospital in Jacksonville, IL.
He was born April 24, 1951 in Jacksonville, the son of Roy and Mary Louise Summers Donovan. He married and divorced Bonnie Crump and later Rose Davis.
He is survived by five children, Brad Donovan (wife, Terry) of Springfield, Sam Donovan (wife, Kristen) stationed at Camp LeJune, NC, Lucas Gebhardt (wife, Kristen) of Springfield, Chris Eilers (husband, Brad) of Chandlerville, and Adam Merrell of Springfield; 13 grandchildren; two sisters, Donna Williamson (deceased husband, David) of Springfield and Kathryn Tasker (husband, Gary) of Chatham; a brother, Wayne Stowe (fiancé, Carisa) of Ashland; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Melvin was a graduate of Ashland High School and worked as an emergency medical technician with Lowe Ambulance and as a deputy with the Morgan County Sheriff’s office. He then owned and operated Prentice Machine Shop in Prentice and drove a truck for Tom Roberts Trucking.
He later worked as a mechanic for Bunn Capitol in Springfield and returned to Prentice to serve as a mechanic for Stribling Trucking until his retirement. He was a member of Teamsters Local 916 in Springfield, serving as a union steward during his employment at Bunn Capitol. He was formerly involved in several Masonic organizations.
