Margaret Mary Cordes-Donahue was born November 8, 1929, the year of The Great Depression. She was born in Omaha, Nebraska to loving parents, Frank and Wilma Hurt – the youngest of three children and doted on by her brothers Ray and Frank, Jr. Her father was a cattle rancher, and she grew up loving the dogs on the ranch.
Margaret died peacefully in hospice care on July 15, 2021, from dementia at the age of 91. She was surrounded by loved ones. She is survived by her husband, John V. Donahue; her three daughters, Deborah, Monica, and Elizabeth; five granddaughters, Andrea, Lindsay, Melanie, Kelsey, and Jenna; and three great-grandchildren Ava, Jackson, and Poppy, along with many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
Margaret was pre-deceased by her parents, brothers, nephew Frankie and daughter, Pamela, who was stillborn – a tragedy that Margaret mourned her entire life.
Margaret led an eclectically interesting life as a fashion model, an American Cancer Society local chapter president, a Duchesne Academy fundraising member, a co-founder of the Omaha chapter of the Freedoms Foundation, a legal assistant, and a sworn federal agent for Immigration Services. She had a real heart for helping others, often volunteering to take cancer patients to their chemo therapy appointments. She loved to play tennis with her family and figure skate. She moved to Southern California to be near the ocean she loved dearly but always missed her family and friends back in the Midwest. But her biggest passion was her love of God and her never-ending devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She attended mass almost daily until she was no longer able, often remarking that she felt a calling to be a nun when she was a child.
A Catholic graveside service will be held Saturday, August 7, 2021, 12:00 p.m. at El Toro Memorial Park, 25751 Trabuco Road, Lake Forest, CA 92630.(949-951-8244)
If interested, memorial donations can be sent in Margaret's name to Laura's House or to Alzheimer's Association for dementia research.