Patrick B. Donahoe

Patrick Bernard Donahoe, 91, a well-known, lifelong Cuba resident, died Aug. 12 after battling multiple medical issues during the past year. He was born April 1, 1926, in St. Louis, to Pearl and Raymond Donahoe. The family moved first in the early 1930s to Steelville and later to Cuba. In the Navy in World War II, he primarily served on two destroyers: the USS Edison and USS Livermore. Altogether during his service, he would circumnavigate the globe three times. He achieved notable success as a Golden Gloves boxer, but word that circulated in the family over the years suggested that he smartly gave up the sport in favor of Joyce Mae West. They were married March 11, 1950. He worked in the propane business for many years and then in hardware sales, and ultimately operated a hardware store in Cuba. He then worked as a route salesman for a hardware line in the region. It was during that pursuit that he taught himself to become an auctioneer. He said he would use utility poles along the roads he traveled to punctuate the sing-song cadence of the auctioneer. He then operated an auction business with son Tim for multiple years. The auction endeavor led, by happenstance, to another successful business: Western hat sales. He bought out the hat inventories of some closing factories, and then sized and sold the hats at the popular trail rides in Eminence along the Jacks Fork River in Shannon County. He was known to say that he was not satisfied until every last one of the trail riders had purchased not one but two of his hats. He served his community via the Lions Club, and was elected to Cuba City Council and police committee. He also served in the board leadership of the Cuba Senior Citizen Center. He was a natural-born entertainer and mostly self-taught musician. He had a song repertoire that could rival a jukebox. He could make a fiddle sing, and he always pursued what he said was the right "scald" on a harmonica. He performed with several area groups, and at one time jammed with the Dillards and John Hartford at Salem. For many years, he was a regular performer at the Senior Center. His loves in life also included reading and following the St. Louis Cardinals, but family was his constant focus and true joy. In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by sisters Margaret McKinstry, Teresa Stair and Louise Schropp, and brother Raymond "Bud" Donahoe. Survivors include two daughters, Nancy Cartwright, and husband Clarence, of suburban Atlanta, Georgia, and Patti Jo Donahoe, of Nashville, Tennessee; a son, Tim Donahoe, and wife Linda, of Cuba; eight grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. The family will receive friends at a celebration of his life on Friday, August 18, 2017 from 5-7 p.m. at The Wallace House 605 W. Washington St. Cuba, Missouri. If desired, memorials would be appreciated to the Cuba Senior Center 206 N. Smith St. Cuba, Missouri 65453. The Mizell Funeral Home of Cuba is honored to be serving the Donahoe family.