John D. Donovan was born on February 15, 1918 in Peabody, Massachusetts to Ellen and John A. Donovan, both immigrants from Ireland. He had one sister, Helen O'Keefe. He married Mary Phipps Donovan in 1950, and they had two children, Christine Moynihan and John D. Donovan, Jr. Donovan graduated from St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers, Massachusetts, in 1935 and earned his BA at Boston College in 1939. He completed his master's degree at BC and began a doctorate at Harvard. His PhD studies were interrupted when he joined the army to serve in WWII. He was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism in 1946 and was named Chevalier of the French Légion d'Honneur in 2020 in recognition of his service. After the war, he completed his doctorate and began teaching at Fordham University. He returned to Boston College in 1952 becoming the first chair of the Sociology Department. He taught there until 1988 and then continued teaching part-time as Professor Emeritus until 2002. He was also a visiting professor at the University of Leuven, Belgium, and at Dublin University in Ireland. While at BC, Donovan helped create the Student Athlete Assistance Program and co-founded the Association of Retired Faculty. His primary focus of study was on priestly celibacy in the Catholic Church. Donovan died on August 14, 2020, at the age of 102.

Sources:

"In Memoriam: John D. Donovan," BC News, August 16, 2020. https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/bcnews/campus-community/faculty/in-memoriam-john-d-donovan.html

"John Donovan Obituary," Boston Globe, August 15, 2020. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/john-donovan-obituary?id=2257365