On Friday, August 25, 2023, Mike Donahue, 77, died after more than four decades as a reporter and anchor for KOIN 6 News. His family announced his passing on Facebook, stating that he passed away surrounded by family members following a protracted fight with pancreatic cancer.
Donahue covered a variety of issues, from regional to international events, and was one of Portland’s most dependable and well-respected journalists. He was well-known for his warmth, humor, and professionalism as well as for his honesty and compassion.
Mike Donahue’s Obituary
The community has expressed its sorrow and thanks in response to Donahue’s passing. His family has received many condolence messages, and many others have also expressed their admiration for his work. Although Mike Donahue’s formal death certificate and burial plans have not been made public.
His former coworkers at KOIN have talked about their time working with him and praised him for his friendliness, leadership, and mentoring. They claimed that he was an industry legend who set the bar for quality and morality. They claimed that working and watching with him was a pleasure.
His viewers have also expressed their feelings, noting that they grew up watching him on TV and relied on him to break the news with integrity and honesty. They described him as a dependable and reassuring presence who kept them informed and connected in their homes. They claimed that everyone who knew him would miss him dearly.
What is Mike Donahue’s Cause of Death?
At the age of 77, former Portland newscaster Mike Donahue passed away. In a Facebook message, his family announced the news of his passing. After a protracted battle with pancreatic cancer, he passed away in the company of loved ones. His pals have been paying him respect on social media. Added Jenny Hansson:
“So sad to learn of Mike Donahue’s passing. He was a legend at KOIN and I was so fortunate that I got to anchor with him for several years.”
Fred Stewart posted:
“He’s always been an excellent representative of Portland. A very nice man. Condolences to his family and everyone.”
KOIN documented Mike’s visit to his childhood home in Albany, Oregon, for “Mike Donahue’s final broadcast“ in the weeks before his retirement. He hadn’t been to Hilltop, the neighborhood where he had grown up, since he was a small boy.
Later, he stopped to Colver Ridge, the one-room school he had attended as a boy, before traveling to Donahue Motors, the site of his father’s previous Studebaker company. His father engraved “1946” in the cement because Mike was born in 1946 and the business was built in 1946.
That date was still legible so many years later. As they approached Albany High School, the final stop, Mike began to cry and talked about how his life had changed.
Mike Donahue Early Life, Education & Career
Donahue was born in County Kerry, Ireland, and later immigrated to the US as a young child. He earned letters in football, basketball, track, and cross country while a student at Yale University. He earned his journalism degree in 1968.
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When he was 22 years old in 1968, he started working at KOIN. He rapidly made a name for himself as a trustworthy and multifaceted journalist, covering everything from the founding of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
For a number of assignments, he also traveled abroad, including to Somalia, where he covered the humanitarian catastrophe and the American military intervention. But among his most enduring tales was how he and President Jimmy Carter watched the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980 from a helicopter.
During his time at KOIN, Donahue worked as an anchor for every time period, from the early morning to the evening. He worked for 44 years before retiring in 2012. He expressed gratitude to God and the audience for keeping him on the air for so long and said he enjoyed breaking the news to them.
He also expressed gratitude to his friends and coworkers at KOIN, describing them as his extended family. Despite how much he would miss them, he expressed his excitement about spending more time with his wife and kids.
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