Detroit — Fr. Edward W. “Ned” Donoher, CSB, who taught for 57 years at Detroit Catholic Central High School, died Dec. 11 at the Little Sisters of the Poor’s Sacred Heart Home outside Toledo, Ohio. He was 86.
Born Dec. 18, 1923 in Toledo, he was a graduate of Central Catholic High School in Toledo, and of St. Basil’s Seminary in Toronto, Ontario.
Fr. Donoher entered the Congregation of St. Basil Sept. 12, 1943, was ordained to the priesthood Dec. 17, 1949 by Cardinal James McGuigan, and joined the faculty of Detroit Catholic Central (then in Detroit) in 1951.
“He started out teaching world history, but fairly quickly settled into teaching religion. For many years, he taught the Old Testament course; he had an incredible knack for making the Old Testament come alive,” said Fr. Richard Raneletti, CSB, president of the school (now in Novi).
In the mid-1980s, concerned that many young Catholic boys were not entering high school with a solid grounding in their faith, Fr. Donoher was involved in developing a new course, “The Catholic Faith,” designed to “bring them up to speed on what it means to be a Catholic,” Fr. Raneletti continued.
He said Fr. Donoher was a popular teacher, but a tough one.
“When I came here in the mid-’80s, I remember talking to the kids one day, and they were telling me how much fun they’d had in Fr. Donoher’s class. I told them I had heard he was pretty strict, and they said, ‘Oh yeah, you don’t get away with anything in Fr. Donoher’s class.’
“I said, ‘But you say you liked his class?’ and they replied, ‘We didn’t mind him being strict – he loves us.’”
Former students lamented his death.
U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (Class of ’83), said, “The passing of Fr. Donoher is a tragic loss for the Catholic Central family and the Michigan Catholic community. We are comforted in the knowledge that he is in the loving arms of God.”
Aaron Babicz, a Catholic Central alumnus (Class of ’93) and now the school’s athletic director, called Fr. Donoher “the heart and soul of CC.”
“He is the reason we have such strong spirit and brotherhood in the school. For a lot of us, Fr. Donoher is the reason we love Catholic Central. He just did so much here, and you always wanted to be a part of what he was doing,” Babicz said.
Patrick Zehel of Canton Township (Class of 2007), said, “He taught me the Catholic Faith in my freshman year, and he was definitely one of the nicest, coolest teachers I ever had.”
Fr. Donoher was a mentor to freshman students, and taught them to be proud of the school, he continued.
“He loved CC, he loved the students, and he loved God,” added Zehel, now a student at Schoolcraft Community College.
Fr. Donoher will be waked today, Friday, Dec. 17, in the Catholic Central Chapel, from 5 p.m., to 9 p.m., with Evening Prayer celebrated at 7 p.m.
Further viewing will take place tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 18, at St. Fabian Church, 32200 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills, prior to the funeral Mass to be celebrated at 10 a.m., by Fr. David Katulski, vicar general of the Basilian Fathers.
A reception will follow at St. Fabian, and burial in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Southfield, is to take place at 3 p.m.
