Susan Donegan

Susan Ann Donegan was born in Dayton OH to Donald and Patricia (Freese) Donegan, the eldest of three. With a B.S. in Foreign Language Secondary Education from Ohio State University, Susan planned to teach Spanish and French, but after a move to California resulted in a job in finance, she earned her M.B.A., and the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and became the first woman stock-broker in Pasadena CA. After knocking her head against the glass-ceiling in the finance and investment world (breaking a few panes along the way), and being blessed with two children, Susan’s mid-life crisis evolved into a travel consulting company, a retail travel agency, and bookstore.  

Susan’s mother explored genealogy, corresponding (pre-internet) with distant relatives from her kitchen table after putting the children to bed. In the 1970s and ‘80s Pat researched at family cemeteries and court houses scattered across the eastern US and southern states from the back of Don’s motorcycle, pulling a camping trailer behind. Susan inherited her mother’s interest and files,  dabbling in family history during holidays until her retirement from the travel industry as Vice  President of an international tour company.  Seven years later, the fruits of retirement have been made public in “Richard Irvine….. his Irish Ancestors”.