James Donovan

Eastham—James A Donovan, 79, died on Saturday, November 4, 2017. He will be deeply missed by his wife of 55 years, Patricia Ryan Donovan, their children, Christine Smith, Cheryl Nakashima and James Ryan Donovan, their spouses, Douglas Smith and David Nakashima, grandchildren, Delaney and Brennan Smith and Andrew and Grace Nakashima, sister, Margaret Pentifallo, nieces and nephews, his many engineering students and graduate students and all his dear friends.

Jim was a Triple Domer, receiving a BS, MS and PhD in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He worked for fifteen years as a staff metallurgist at the Savannah River Lab in Aiken, South Carolina. In 1979, he began his career as a Material Scientist in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He was a consultant for Dow Chemical on the failure of breast implant and was one of the four experts the Federal Highway Administration brought together for the Ford Explorer/Bridgestone Tire case. The European Fracture Consortium used his research to establish standard testing for environmental stress cracking polymers. For a number of summers he traveled to Russia and Moldova to lecture and provide guidance to scientists, engineers and students helping them to prepare their research for presentation at international technical meetings. He was a professor at UMass for thirty three years. He took his last sabbatical at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez and returned there for the next fifteen years during the winter semester to work with engineering students and faculty.

But Jim was a man with many interests. He led a discussion group for fifteen years in South Carolina. He was a lifelong Democrat and a South Carolina delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1976. He went winter backpacking for many years. He was a runner until a decade ago and then became a hiker, enjoying the Eastham Hiking Group after his move to Eastham in 2012. He had been a beekeeper a few different times in his life. He was a member of Nauset Newcomers and the Orleans Yacht Club. He liked to travel and felt fortunate to have gotten to see so much of the world. He was an avid gardener and a consummate handyman. He loved to tell stories. But cooking was his special passion. He read cookbooks like most people read novels. One of his greatest pleasures in life was planning menus and preparing them for friends and family. He was devoted to his family and cherished his friends.

We will be remembering Jim at his home, 15 Leland Rd, Eastham on Saturday, November 11 from 1:00 to 5:00. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Dr. James Donovan Scholarship Fund with checks payable to UMass, Amherst, and sent to: Records and Gift Processing, Memorial Hall, University of Massachusetts, 134 Hicks Way, Amherst, Ma 01003. For online condolences, please visit www.nickersonfunerals.com .