Manson A. Donaghey Obituary (1925 - 2021)

PEMBROKE- Manson A. Donaghey, 96, of Pembroke, passed away on December 20, 2021. Manson was born on Wheaton Avenue in Concord, to A. Manson and Madeline (Rafuse) Donaghey and attended the Walker School and Concord High School, where he was captain of the cross country and track teams. In January 1944, he entered the U.S. Army Special Training Program (ASTP) to train as a combat engineer, but the program was cut short due to the need for soldiers at the front, and he was drafted into service as a BAR rifleman. He saw major action in the Vosges Mountains of eastern France and later in Germany, and he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. After the war he ran a food warehouse in Kassel, Germany, in an UNRRA program for displaced refugees. Upon Manson's return from the service, he married Fay Hutchins of Bow, N.H., enrolled in UNH, and completed his bachelor's and master's degrees at Boston University. Manson's first job in education was teaching 7th and 8th graders in the one-room yellow schoolhouse in Loudon, N.H. He was subsequently principal of Pembroke Elementary School from 1952 to 1960. In 1960, he moved his family to White Plains, N.Y., where he was principal of Post Road Elementary School (1960-1964), Battle Hill Junior High (1964-1967), and White Plains High School (1967-1980). Upon retirement, Manson and Fay moved back to their roots in N.H., starting Donaghey Tree Farm in Pembroke. They threw themselves into learning a new career and loved welcoming neighbors and others for a cut-your-own Christmas tree. Manson was an incurable optimist who often said that surviving the battlefront where he lost so many of his buddies made every day a gift. He was deeply religious in a personal and tolerant way and was a spiritual anchor for his family. He loved music and played an array of pieces on the piano, much of it by ear, for his family and community gatherings. In his younger years, he was an avid member of the Appalachian Mountain Club and climbed numerous N.H. mountains, some of them several times. Most of all he was a "people" person, was comfortable with public speaking and leadership, and reveled in recounting anecdotes, never forgetting details of names or dates. Finally, though, his most cherished accomplishment was the creation and cultivation of a close and loving family. Manson was predeceased by his wife Fay and his second wife, Constance Swain Jones. He is survived by daughter Diane Jumet and her husband Claude, daughter Kathy Cruson, and daughter Susan Seidner and husband Gary Seidner, as well as grandchildren Rachel Harrington, Eric Cruson, Shaina Seidner, Stacy Boyden, Hannah Seidner and Kira Jumet, and several great-grandchildren. The family would like to express its profound gratitude to the Granite VNA Hospice House for its gentle and dedicated attention to Manson's comfort during his last hours. Calling Hours will be held on Tuesday, January 4th from 6 to 8 P.M. in the Petit-Roan Funeral Home, 167 Main St. in Pembroke. A Celebration of Manson's Life will be held on Wednesday, January 5th at 3:30 P.M. in the Pembroke Congregational Church, 301 Pembroke St. in Pembroke. A private burial will take place in the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery at a later date. At the request of the family, those attending the visitation and service are kindly asked to wear a face-covering. The Donaghey's do not want anyone to feel obligated to attend if you do not feel safe doing so but you may remember Manson in your own thoughts and ways if you so choose. The family would be grateful if anyone who wishes to honor Manson's memory with a donation would make it either to the Appalachian Mountain Club, 10 City Square, Boston MA 02129 or the Wildlife Heritage Foundation of New Hampshire, 54 Portsmouth Street, Concord, NH 03301. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.petitroan.com.