Song for my father...
If ever there were a gold standard for fathers, then Oscar C. Donahue, Jr. has shown what a father should be. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, my father grew up in a loving family with three sisters and two brothers, born in 1929 at the beginning of the Great Depression shielded from the tremendous struggles to survive...he was taught early to read by his sister and always was one of the top students in his class, became a furrier in his early teens and became an expert at making fur coats which led to a fourty year career in the fur industry, which exposed him to the highest levels of society. Blended in with a brief career in the Negro Baseball Leagues and the Air Force, lover of music by the great singers of the day like Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and my father was a well rounded individual with a great taste of the arts and the finer things of life. He married Jeanette at 26 and then had six children, of which I was the oldest. Despite working every day, he found time to be with his children, I have great memories of him sitting me in his lap and playing Harry Belafonte and classical greats such as Beethoven and Ravel.
The Big Fish by Oscar Donahue
Consistency was one of his great virtues, and he managed to raise all of his children and be there during any crisis, keeping the family intact when the world at times seemed to be going crazy, the tumultuous sixties, from the Vietnam War to Hurricane Katrina when I was forced to return home after thirty years, and all the children either went to college or the military and have grown to have families and making positive contributions to society.
Consistency was one of his great virtues, and he managed to raise all of his children and be there during any crisis, keeping the family intact when the world at times seemed to be going crazy, the tumultuous sixties, from the Vietnam War to Hurricane Katrina when I was forced to return home after thirty years, and all the children either went to college or the military and have grown to have families and making positive contributions to society.
After his retirement, he has dedicated his time to helping me advance my career, and with his expert salesmanship and communication skills, has caused legions of people to fall in love with my art..we have traveled the country extensively at festivals and shows, and I smile at how people marvel at his vast knowledge of current events...
Mardi Gras by Oscar Donahue
He remained devoted to my mother until her passing last December, and now we are living together and continuing to work in New Orleans at the French Market where if there were a superstar label given to someone for sales, he would easily show that at seventy seven he remains at the top of his game...what I love is that he is the same both in the private world as well as the public, full of love for humanity and respect for all around him. I am honored and truly blessed to continue to share each day with my father and cherish how I have been so fortunate to live with such a brilliant, humble man.
Queen of Egypt by Oscar Donahue
Oscar Charles Donahue, III
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