Marie Donahue was born in South Berwick, Maine . She died in the same home that she had been born in and lived in all her life. Ms. Donahue graduated from Berwick Academy and received both Bachelor and Master’s degrees from the University of New Hampshire. She taught at several high schools and was a member of the New Hampshire Retired Teachers Association and the Maine Retired Teachers Association. She was co-founder of the Old Berwick Historical society and the Soth Berwick honorary Citizen of the Year in 1972 among other honors. Miss Donahue wrote and published "The Old Academy on the Hill 1791-1991," a history of Berwick Academy. She was a freelance writer for Down East Magazine, the Boston Globe, the Maine sunday Post as well as New Hampshire Profiles Magazine. She was recognized Sarah Orne Jewett Scholar and a member of the Friends of UNH Library. Miss Donahue maintained that she had loved every minute in the classroom.