During her foreign service career, Marion Donovan lived in various parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. She retired to Norfolk in 1982.

Marion Ann Donovan, a career foreign service officer and world traveler, died peacefully at her home on Tuesday, December 22, 2015. She was 95 years old.

Marion Donovan was born on October 13, 1920, and grew up in Brooklyn, where she played the violin and piano and read voraciously. Her love of travel began early, when the Donovan family traveled across the country in a 1928 Buick to visit historic and natural sites during summer vacations.

Marion Donovan majored in fine arts at Barnard College, where she was a member of the violin section of the Columbia University orchestra, developed a special passion for archaeology, and won a fellowship to study the artists Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco in Mexico. She graduated cum laude in 1941.

She held several positions in publishing after college, then entered the U.S. Foreign Service, in which she served for more than 25 years. Fiercely independent, she lived and worked as a single woman in Egypt, Turkey, Peru, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Chile, the Ivory Coast and other countries, sometimes leaving just before the outbreak of war.

She loved the adventure of discovering a new city or country, and eventually visited every continent, often with her sister, Mary. Her six nieces and nephew were the beneficiaries of postcards from all over the world, written in her witty and distinctive voice. Well into her 80s, she said, “When I get a new travel brochure in the mail, I lick my chops.”

Marion Donovan found a home in Norfolk in 1982 after she retired from the foreign service. She was attracted to Norfolk’s natural beauty and the Yale School of Music’s summer program, but her decision was clinched when she walked into the Norfolk Public Library and found a fire burning in the fireplace. The setting was so comfortable and inviting that she decided that Norfolk was where she wanted to settle.

Marion Donovan was a gracious hostess who spoiled her family and friends with big meals and many wonderful weekends at her home. A lifelong animal lover, she was a devoted supporter of the Little Guild of St. Francis.

She is survived by a sister, six nieces and a nephew. During her long illness, she received superlative care from her caregivers, and the family is deeply grateful to them: Tina Prigge, Madeline Falk, Theresa Kochiss-Padua, Marcella Jencikova-Sadlon, Mary Yard, Katie Hester and Stacey Roberts. The family would also like to express their appreciation to other members of the Norfolk community who looked out for their aunt over the years.

A mass will be celebrated for Marion Donovan at Immaculate Conception Church in Norfolk on Saturday, January 16, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory to the Norfolk Library, the Little Guild of St. Francis (www.littleguild.org) or another charity. Kenny Funeral Homes is in charge of of the arrangements.