Swimmer won multiple gold medals, beginning at age 65

Louise K. Donovan swam competitively at Butler University back in the late 1930s, but it wasn't until she retired, more than 50 years later, that she would begin to set national records.

Mrs. Donovan passed away Dec. 5. The 54-year resident of Wheaton was 89.

She began swimming as a child, growing up in Indianapolis. One of eight siblings, she was the only one to swim competitively, her family says, and she became a star swimmer for the Butler Bulldogs.

During her college career, she dated Mike Kelley, who attended the University of Notre Dame, and they married in 1941. The couple and their two sons, Richard and Stephen, moved to Wheaton in 1953, after Mike Kelley's Navy service in World War II and in Korea.

Within a year, Mrs. Donovan began teaching language arts, starting first at Ben Franklin School, before spending most of her career at Hadley Junior High School, both in Glen Ellyn.

"She had a good rapport with her students," says Fran Holtzman of Wheaton, who taught with Mrs. Donovan at Ben Franklin School. "She respected them and would always listen to them."

When Mike Kelley passed away in 1983, another teaching colleague suggested Mrs. Donovan take up swimming to help her deal with her grief, urging her to join a U.S. Master Swimming club at the B.R. Ryall YMCA in Glen Ellyn.

Master's programs provide workouts and sanctioned competitions for adults ages 18 and older. Athletes compete in their age groups and can qualify for national rankings.

"She started when she was 65, and she had remarkable success," says her friend, Louise Fish of Wheaton.

Within her first 18 months of competing Mrs. Donovan had won 20 gold medals, including 10 at the U.S. Master Swimming national short course championships in Los Angeles, in 1985, in the 65-and-over age group.

It was through swimming that Mrs. Donovan met her second husband, Jerry Donovan, and the couple married in 1986. They continued to train together at the Wheaton Sports Center and traveled across the country for national competitions.

Mrs. Donovan continued to pace the field. In 1993, she recorded eight top 10 finishes, all in individual freestyle events, and in 1995, she set two more, at the age of 77.

Her second husband passed away in 1999, and Mrs. Donovan once again found solace in her swimming. She swam regularly at the Wheaton Sports Center, even as recently as in June.

"Louise lived her life fully," adds Fish, "with great humanity and love."

Mrs. Donovan is survived by her two sons, Stephen, of Weekiwachee, Fla., and Richard, of Elburn, as well as multiple nieces, nephews and grandchildren.

A memorial service will take place at 10 a.m. Dec. 19 at the Wyndemere Auditorium, 200 Wyndemere Circle, in Wheaton.