Obituary of Daniel Donohue

On August 10th Daniel Donohue was called home to God. Danny was born in Brooklyn on June 27th,1944. As a young man, Danny joined Central Islip’s Psychiatric Center as an assistant, a job that would lead him to meet his beloved wife of over 56 years, a nurse in training, Irene.

In 1975, Danny began his long career with the Civil Service Employees Association.  Although Danny would always refer to himself as “a truck driver from Brooklyn”, he rose from winning a write-in campaign to serve as a CSEA Local President, to eventually serving 7 terms as CSEA Statewide President, spanning 26 years, and making him the longest-serving president in the union’s history. Additionally, he served as Vice President of the New York State AFL-CIO and as an International Vice President of AFSCME. For over 40 years, Danny devoted himself to servant leadership, making frequent visits across the state to visit the 280 thousand members of CSEA whom he made a habit of referring to as the “best damn union”. Danny aimed to raise the voices of those he served, championing issues from workplace protections to domestic partnership rights. Danny never missed an opportunity to remind members and politicians alike that the members of CSEA are the ones who keep New York running.

At his 2019 retirement, Danny was celebrated by members along with political figures from both sides of the aisle. Notably, he was given a pair of boxing gloves for being a formidable opponent who was always willing to fight to the end for his members.

Although Danny will be remembered for his service to others, his true legacy is his family.  Danny is survived by his wife Irene, and children Amy, Shawn, and Megan. Each of his children carries his torch in their way, be that their own involvement in the labor movement, exhibiting his zest for life, or even bearing a mirror image of his face. They will all carry forward his mission to help those in need.

In lieu of flowers, the Donohue family requests that those he has touched through his years of service donate to their favorite charity to continue his legacy.

Private funeral services for the family were entrusted to the Gordon C. Emerick Funeral Home, 1550 RT-9, Clifton Park, NY 12065

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