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Elise Donohue, a longtime classical music enthusiast, philanthropist, horse rancher and Minnesota Public Radio board member, died Thursday.


Donohue grew up in St. Paul and lived most recently in Clyde Park, Mont.

Donohue joined the MPR board in 2012. She came from a line of family members who had supported public radio since its beginning. The Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio at MPR's broadcast headquarters in St. Paul is named after Donohue's grandmother. Donohue was the daughter of the late Sarah Maud Sivertsen and stepdaughter of R.J. "Bob" Sivertsen, an MPR life trustee.  


Donohue was a fan of Fred Child, host of Performance Today, a classical music radio program heard nationwide. She signed up for a summer musical tour in Europe just weeks before she died.


Child remembers Donohue as someone who greatly enjoyed connecting with people over music.


"Just the sheer joy that she got from sharing a musical event and then being able to talk about it with people afterwards," he said, "it just lit her up."


Donohue raised horses and cattle with her son on the Double D Ranch in Montana.


In a note to the staff of Minnesota Public Radio on Friday, MPR President Jon McTaggart called Donohue "a true and generous friend to me, and to MPR. I will miss her spirit and joy and curiosity and insightful questions and so many more things."


A memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday, May 28, at House of Hope Church in St. Paul.

Philanthropist, MPR board member dies

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