Donovan, Jean (1953–)

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Donovan, Jean (1953–)

American nun and martyr. Born April 10, 1953, in Westport, Connecticut; died Dec 2, 1980 in El Salvador; dau. of Raymond Donovan (executive engineer) and Patricia Donovan; attended Case Western Reserve University.

Joined Maryknoll Sisters (1979); became Caritas coordinator for the diocesan mission program in El Salvador (July 1979), working in La Libertad, distributing food for the poor and the refugees; stood vigil at the coffin of the assassinated Archbishop Romero (Mar 1980); was slain by National Guardsmen in El Salvador, along with Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel and Maura Clarke; portrayed by Melissa Gilbert in the tv-movie "Choices of the Heart" (1983).