Sean Donahue

Sean M. Donahue, age 36, of Jersey City and formerly of Wayne, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 26, 2020.

Sean was born in St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. He was raised in Passaic until age nine when he moved to Wayne.

Sean graduated from Wayne Hills High School in 2002 and then attended Chubb Institute where he earned his certification in networking security administration. His first job in technology was with IND Corporation in Parsippany, NJ as a network engineer. Gaining valuable experience, Sean moved on to positions with DeWitt Stern Risk Strategies, New York, NY as Vice President of Technology and XL Catlin Insurance, New York, NY as Assistant Vice President, Underwriter in Cyber Technology. Most recently, he was employed by Beecher Carlson Insurance Services, New York, NY as Senior Vice President/Technology Risk Management. Sean loved his work and he especially enjoyed mentoring and sharing his knowledge with younger professionals and helping them strive to be their best.

Sean met his wife, Erika, at a Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation event in May of 2010. They were married two years later, on August 27, 2012 in a civil ceremony conducted by the justice of the peace at City Hall in New York, NY. A celebration of their union was held on Sunday, May 5, 2013 at the Tides Estate in North Haledon.

Sean enjoyed numerous hobbies and pastimes. As a young boy, you could often find him outside in front of his house, playing street hockey with his friends. A love of fishing was also sparked during those early years of life and one time, he won a pool for catching the biggest fish. His love of fishing continued throughout his life and he also enjoyed having fish as pets in his beautiful saltwater fish tank. As he progressed into adulthood, Sean’s love of the wonderful invention of things progressed right along with him. He loved playing with all things mechanical but he was also intrigued by the intricacies of how things worked. Sean loved to read about subjects like the workings of the brain and of course computers. He loved playing video games, especially those that involve risk. No doubt, these interests led him to his life’s vocation and, in his spare time, one of his favorite hobbies - being what’s known as an ethical computer hacker. An ethical computer hacker is a person who is hired by companies to try to hack their computer systems as a way of revealing any real-life vulnerabilities. In fact, Sean earned certifications to engage in ethical computer hacking.

Sean was truly a loving, sensitive, caring and gentle soul. Beyond all of his zest-for-life pursuits, was a man who loved his family and friends and always desired that those who spent time with him were enjoying themselves. He loved to take friends out for dinner and wanted them to have a good time. He also had a soft spot in his heart for those in need. Sean never came across a worthy cause he didn’t want to get behind and support. Favorite charitable organizations included but were not limited to the Humane Society, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, and most recently any endeavor to help front line workers in the battle against COVID-19 to get the personal protective equipment they needed to protect themselves while caring for others. During 9-11 Sean’s father had a friend who was a lieutenant in the New York City Fire Department who commandeered a ferry boat to rescue many who were at ground zero. As Sean learned of this heroic act, it instilled a great love and respect for firefighters in his heart. A charitable organization called the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation arose from that effort and Sean and Erika actively supported the organization. They also frequented a local butcher shop in Jersey City near their home and always left a generous amount of money with the store owner with instructions to use it for the local firefighters when they came in.

Sean was the beloved husband of Erika Donahue (nee Rein), and the loving son of Peter and Judy Donahue of Bradenton, Florida.

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In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation would be appreciated.

To donate online, click HERE

To donate by fax or mail, you can click HERE to access a Printable Donation Form.

Fax your completed form to 718-987-3909 or mail it to:

Tunnels to Towers Foundation

2361 Hylan Boulevard

Staten Island, NY 10306