Annette Donovan
ProNica lost a long-time champion on April 28 when Annette Donovan died peacefully at age 94. Annette and her husband Ted’s concern for Nicaragua first manifested in the early to mid-80’s when, as part of an ecumenical mid-week worship group, they worked on the establishment of the New Haven (CT)/Leon (Nicaragua) Sister City Project. Their concern developed into a life-long passion upon traveling to Nicaragua in 1986 as part of a sister city delegation. The opportunity to witness first-hand the struggles of the Nicaraguan people, and experience first-hand their warmth and their welcome, made a lasting impression.
Annette and Ted Donovan in 1986 with their host family in Nicaragua
Annette and Ted were members of New Haven Friends Meeting for 6 decades and were regular volunteers in the Sister City Project’s Connecticut office for many years. When ProNica was formally established shortly after their return from Nicaragua it became another avenue through which they could support citizen to citizen solidarity with that country. Both of them–and then Annette, following Ted’s passing in 2001—were faithful contributors to ProNica; we received Annette’s final donation just months before her death. More importantly, they were gentle but persistent advocates for our work and the principles that underlie it.