Edward Francis Donohue Jr, acclaimed basketball coach and athlete, peacefully passed away January 8, 2023 at 93 in his home with family present in New Port Richey, Florida. He was preceded in death in 2020 by his wife of 71 years, Ruth Harumi (Kawahara) Donohue and sisters Katherine and Patricia, mother Clara and father Edward Sr. “Coach D” as he was known by, is survived by 3 children; Edward, wife Mary, living in Cobbs Creek, Virginia, Karin Purcell, husband Joe, living in Springfield, PA and Robynn Mack of Somers Point, NJ. He had 7 grandchildren, Edward IV, Matthew, Sean, Kynan, Lindsey, Kadie, and Shane plus 14 great grandchildren, McKenna, Helen, Claire, Clarissa, Brooklyn, Maxwell, Chase, Cooper, Henry (Hank), Barrett, Samantha, Oliver, Beatrix, and Dante.

Coach D was best known for his competitive basketball teams at King’s College from 1968 to
1983 where his record was 201-172. His teams were renowned for their basketball IQ and toughness. King’s competed regularly against Division 1 teams (King’s was Division 2, 11 of the 15 years under Coach D) including one of only 3 coaches to claim a winning record against Mike Krzyzewski who was head coach of Army at the time. King’s was known for playing “up”, scheduling and not irregularly, beating Division 1 teams. Included in this list are St Joseph’s, University of Pennsylvania, Army, American University, Rhode Island University, Villanova, St. Francis of PA, Niagara University, Notre Dame, Czechoslovakia National Team, Bucknell, Temple, Seton Hall, Holy Cross plus others. Of note in his list of achievements were the Middle Eastern Catholic Colleges Association championship in 1974 followed by an NCAA Division 2 Tournament bid that same year.

Coach D was a remarkable high school athlete, playing 4 sports for Poughkeepsie High School from 1943 to 1947. He played one year of college football at Niagara University before entering the Air Force in 1950. Coach D spent most of his service time in Tokyo, Japan where he met and married Ruth in 1952. They welcomed Ed lll into the family in 1953.

Returning to the US with an honorable discharge from the Air Force, Coach D entered and completed his Bachelors and Masters Degree in Physical Education at Syracuse University. Karin was born in Syracuse in1955.

Coach D’s first coaching job was at Belfast High School in Belfast NY. There he coached 3 sports, winning a championship in soccer. Robynn was born here in 1959.

Coach D’s next stop was in his hometown of Poughkeepsie where he started the sports programs at Our Lady of Lourdes High School, competing his first year with all Freshman playing junior varsity level in football, baseball and basketball. His teams were competitive from the start and successful at the top levels by the time this inaugural group reached their senior year. Coach D was inducted into both the Duchess County Basketball Hall of Fame and Our Lady of Lourdes Sports Hall of Fames’ respectively for his athletic and coaching achievements in Poughkeepsie.

In 1963 Niagara University came calling and Coach D moved his family to western New York to become freshman and assistant men’s basketball coach, varsity baseball coach and physical education instructor.

During his tenure at Niagara he recruited and coached 2 NBA players, Manny Leaks and Calvin Murphy. Both were all-Americans and Calvin in particular had a long and productive NBA career, being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990.

In 1968 Coach D accepted the offer to become the Athletic Director and Head Men’s Basketball Coach at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA. There he developed a culture of winning and competing regardless of the level of competition. In 1997 Coach D was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and the Luzerne County Hall of Fame in 1992 for his achievements at King’s.

A gifted pen and ink artist, Coach D followed this passion after his coaching days at King’s. In 1987 he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Wilkes-Barre as the nominee from the Republican party and in 1995 for Luzerne County Commissioner. In 1993 he officially retired. Coach D and Ruth then began traveling extensively and enjoying their summer home in Ocean City, NJ. In 1997 they permanently moved to New Port Richey Florida where they resided until their passing.